Song of Kylo: The Jedhan War
by KissOfDeath9087
Summary: Star Wars tackles the Trojan War. Reylo AU of The Iliad. Full summary inside
1. Prologue

**Song of Kylo: The Jedhan War**

Summary:

After years of war, peace is finally struck between Jedha's King Luke and High King Snoke. But when Poe of Dameron steals Snoke's ward, Finn, in the dead of night—the peace treaty is not the only thing that collapses. King Snoke and his best warlords bring their armies to the beaches of Jedha, determined to take back Finn…among other things. Among the Achaeans, is Kylo of Ren, the demigod warlord feared throughout the land.

Kylo's loyalty is put to the test when he discovers that his war prize, Rey is not all she appears to be.

Can snoke win "The war that will be remembered for one thousand years." without his best warlord?  
Can Kylo's soul be saved?  
Can the prophecy be believed?

* * *

Notes:

So, this is a giant hodgepodge of history, The Iliad, Troy, and Song of Achilles in which Kylo stars as the demigod with but one weakness...and Rey is that weakness.

Rey is not in this chapter but worry not, she is on the way, and she will not be the wilting flower that Briseis is in the film version.

* * *

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκεν,

"Sing, goddess, of Achilles ruinous anger

Which brought ten thousand pains to the Achaeans,

And cast the souls of many stalwart heroes

To Hades, and their bodies to the dogs

And birds of prey."

-Homer, The Illiad

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **Peace**

Peace negotiations.

Kylo found the idea amusing if not a bit misguided. The warrior plucked at the small bunch of purple grapes on his plate as his dark eyes scanned the sea of men and women who crowded the grand dining hall in the great city of Moraband. News of today's auspicious event had traveled far and wide. All those who heard it gathered to bear witness to the once unachievable peace treaty.

Peace between the collection of Achaean cities now called the First Order and the ancient kingdom of Jedha.

Peace between High King Snoke of Moraband and the idealistic recluse, King Luke of Jedha.

Because that couldn't possibly end badly.

A tall, blonde, amazon of a woman sidled up to Kylo's table. Kylo hardly recognized her without her heavy armor. She sat beside him arranging her long limbs beneath the skirt of her silver peplum. "You know, this is a peaceful gathering. Dressing in full armor might offend our guests. Sends the wrong message and all that."

Beneath his helmet, Kylo glared at the Queen of Illum. "That's the point."

"Still not on speaking terms, then?" She gave a knowing smirk. "Where's Hux? Aren't you two usually joined at the hip?"

Kylo shrugged, "Off flirting with the wealthy daughters and sons, I'd wager."

"Well, I'll leave you to your brooding. I'm going to go meet our guests." Queen Phasma of Illum rose and stalked to the table of honor where she proceeded to kiss hands and courtesy.

Princess Leia of Jedha sat beside her husband pirate turned royal, Han. Kylo's eyes didn't linger on the pair. Too much pain. Too much history.

Instead, his eyes found their adoptive son. Poe of Dameron. The greatest warrior in Jedha was a broad, muscular man with tight brown curls and tawny skin. His face was handsomely sculpted, every bit the model prince, despite his low birth. Leia and Han couldn't have found a better champion if they tried. The thought left Kylo cold.

A loud gong signaled the arrival of their host. Kylo's master, High King Snoke swept in with his entourage. The crowd fell silent in the wake of his steps, holding a collective breath as he approached Princess Leia.

Kylo felt his fists clenching around the grapes, the juices staining the leather of his gloves.

Neither Leia nor Snoke smiled. A look of resigned understanding passed between them. This was a hard won peace. Not easy for either of them to swallow. But it was a necessary evil for the sake of both the Jedhan and Achaean people.

It didn't go unnoticed by Kylo that King Luke wasn't present. Instead, he'd sent his twin sister to do his negotiating. King Luke was holed up somewhere in Asia Minor in his Lost City. There were rumors about the Lost City. Rumors of its riches, its opulence. Snoke practically drooled when he spoke of it. Kylo was certain that the Lost City was a big motivating factor behind this peace treaty.

Snoke's veiny, withered hand emerged from his heavy furs, extended toward Leia. She looked between it and his eyes for a moment. When she grasped his hand in hers the crowd erupted in cheers. The music resumed and dancing commenced.

As the night wore on, Kylo remained in his seat, observing. No one dared approach the armored sentinel in the corner. No one but Hux, who'd appeared to slap Kylo on the shoulder, then whine about the armor damaging his hand.

"You get an eyeful of Poe of Dameron? Never seen a man so pretty. Think he's as deadly as they say he is?" Asked Hux.

Kylo's lip pulled back from his teeth. "Doesn't matter. I could still beat him."

"I know you could," Hux said, "That's not what I asked, was it? This is why people don't like you."

"You like me. Phasma likes me."

Hux rolled his eyes but said nothing more as they were interrupted by the High King's mistress who appeared at their table in the finest silks, her dark hair all an artful tumble around her shoulders. Bazine of Netal smiled at Kylo, ignoring Hux entirely. "Warlord" She greeted.

"Bazine," said Kylo disdainfully, squirming a bit under her gaze. She swept closer, leaning in so Kylo had a good view of her cleavage. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hux making gagging faces.

"Why don't you take off that silly helmet. I much prefer the sight of your gorgeous face."

"Perhaps I'm hiding from you," said Kylo.

She mistook his words for flirtation. A grin split her full lips and she said, "Well, I've found you. Now, it's my turn to hide. I'll be in the baths if you want to find me." She sauntered off, swishing her hips.

"Please tell me you're not encouraging this," said Hux, his cheeks as red as his hair.

Kylo shrugged, "She's a vile creature…but she passes the time. Have to relax somehow." Truth be told, he was considering the invitation. He was growing tired of the celebration, tired of hiding from the Jedhans. The sooner he was out of their sight, the sooner he could take off this ridiculous disguise. He got to his feet. Hux protested but Kylo waved him off and stalked to his stateroom.

He removed his armor, placing it reverently on its stand. He draped a linen tunic around his hips and padded on bare feet down the hall to the baths.

The air was close and steamy. The aroma of rose and lavender oil was a bit too strong but not unpleasant. He could already hear her inside. His body hardened in reaction to the sounds even if his mind protested. She was a distraction and nothing more. Besides that, she belonged to Snoke—though he didn't seem to mind sharing her. A cringeworthy thought.

He rounded the corner and froze. It was not Bazine that he'd heard. It was Poe of Dameron and Snoke's ward, Finn. Kylo slipped behind a pillar, using the steam as cover to get a better look at the two young men.

They were seated on a bench facing one another, their hands loosely resting on each other's elbows. Their heads were inclined toward one another and they were whispering something. Something Kylo couldn't quite hear over the ambient lapping of water.

What were they doing together?

Did Snoke know?

Did Bazine?

Kylo disected this new information in his mind. Their countries were at peace—finally. Ostensibly, there was nothing wrong here. Still, Snoke was unusually protective of his ward. No one was good enough to speak to him, let alone do…anything else to him. Then, there was Bazine. Kylo knew that on nights when he refused her, she found her way to Finn's bed.

Bazine wouldn't like this and Kylo was sure that the King of Kings would not approve of Poe of Dameron, peace treaty or no…and yet, Kylo found he had no desire to expose them.

Kylo had his fair share of secrets.

He knew what it was to harbor them.

The loneliness of it.

The shame.

No, he would not bother them. If Snoke and Bazine found out, it would be their battle to fight. Kylo wanted no part of it.

Kylo left them there in the baths, forgetting all about Bazine. He went to his stateroom and drifted off to sleep, happy with the knowledge that sun would rise and take the Jedhans far away from his home…then, everything would return to normal.

* * *

The sun did rise, as Kylo predicted. The Jedhans had already boarded their ships and were sailing across the Agean…but they left chaos in their wake.


	2. Ch 1: Prophecy

"Nothing can be revoked or said in vain

nor unfulfilled if I should nod my head."

-Homer, The Illiad

* * *

 **Ch 1:**

 **Prophecy**

Kylo entered the war room to find the Kings and Warlords already assembled. The room was dark, despite the morning hour. A fire warmed the corner casting an orange glow across the stone walls. There was a low din of excited conversation blanketing everything.

Kylo slipped in between Hux and Phasma who both looked as though they'd been pulled from bed and tossed into the crowd. Kylo wasn't fairing much better.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Hux shook his head. Phasma shrugged.

At the head of the table, Snoke was turning varying shades of purple and Kylo thought his eyeballs might pop out of his skeletal face and roll across the parchment map spread on the table top. Part of him hoped for this.

All of Snoke was decrepit…all but his voice, which could still silence a room with little effort. "I invite those lecherous barbarians into my home, I offer them peace…and this is how they repay me!" Snoke shouted.

To Snoke's right, Bazine's pretty lips pouted. To Snoke's left, there was an empty space—a Finn sized empty space. Kylo felt his stomach drop to his feet. He made a mental list of everyone in attendance.

Snoke. Bazine. Phasma. Hux. The five other Kings and Warlords who made up the First Order— Ajax, Nestor, Sinon, Thoas, and Leitus.

Finn was not here.

Sweat beaded along Kylo's hairline. What exactly had he witnessed in the baths? More than a tryst? More than a secret. Kylo trained his eyes on the parchment map. If Snoke asked him if he knew anything, what would he say? The King of Kings could smell a lie a mile off. He'd know Kylo was lying.

"I knew we couldn't trust the Jedhans. Now they've gone and stolen Finn." Bazine complained. Kylo wasn't the woman's only treasured toy.

Snoke steepled his long, bony fingers beneath his chin, adopting a serious expression on his sunken face. "The Jedhans have violated the terms of our treaty. They have stolen what is mine and we will not stand for it." His eyes moved over his audience, one by one. "We always knew this day would come. If it couldn't be peace, it would be war." His eyes fell on Kylo. "There will be glory in this war. Glory beyond anything we have imagined. Men will write stories of our conquest. History will honor us. The Gods favor our cause."

His words were having the desired effect. The powerful men and women around the war room table began to nod, lips cracking into greedy smiles. Even Kylo felt his blood pulse at the word glory. He liked the feel of the word, enjoyed the way it rolled on his tongue.

"So, what say you brothers? Sisters?" Said Snoke. "Will you sail with me to Jedha? Will you take what the hands of history have so generously offered?"

"Huzzah!" Came the cries from all but Kylo.

Glory was one thing…his estranged family in Jedha was quite another.

* * *

Han stood at the bow of his prized ship the Millennium Falcon, eyes trained on the horizon. The sun was high overhead and there was nothing but crystal blue for miles. Han had been a pirate all his life—a wanderer at best. He'd never admit it to anyone, least of all to his wife…but he'd grown more and more fond of their home in Jedha. He found himself yearning for the feel of their bed; the dull warmth of the sun as it came through the terrace doors at a certain angle each morning; the smell of the pink bougainvillea blossoms that crept up every vertical wall of the palace.

Han smiled, glad that their diplomatic duties were finished. Glad to be headed home. He knew Leia was as well. She hated to be away from home almost as much as she hated Snoke. Watching her make nice with the High King of the First Order for the past month had been humiliating for both of them.

He walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind, tucking her small body under his chin. "Won't be long now." He said.

She gave an absent nod and continued worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"What's on your mind, Princess?" Asked Han.

Her large brown eyes craned up to look at him. "You know why I agreed to go in Luke's stead, don't you? I thought maybe we'd see him. I thought that Ben might—"

Han dropped his hands from her waist. This was a battle they had fought too many times. A battle to which there would be no victor. "Leia, you knew as well as I did that he wasn't going to be there."

"But I had hope." She insisted.

A throat cleared and Han turned to see Poe watching them, absent of his usual smile. "Han…can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"

Han blinked at him, surprised and entirely suspicious. He nodded and followed as Poe led him down the ladder to the lower deck. A figure stood in the shadows wrapped in a dark himation cloak.

"Poe, what's…" His words died on his tongue as the figure slowly emerged into the light. Han took in rich dark skin, full lips, kind eyes-too kind for any progeny of Snoke. "Finn?" Han looked back and forth between the two young men. His adoptive son met his eyes with unyielding ferocity. Finn, for his part was more subdued, almost afraid. Surprise quickly gave way to anger. "What the hell have you done?" Han growled. He slammed his fist into the wood of the hull.

Poe flinched. "I won't apologize."

"Good, because I don't want to hear it." Han stomped back up the ladder. "Turn the ship around!" He bellowed. "Back to Moraband!"

"Han, what's going on…oh my god." Leia's eyes fell on the two young men following Han up the ladder. She stomped over, hand reeled back, prepared to slap Poe across the face. Han thought it was an empty threat. Even he cringed at the sound that rang out across the deck when her hand met Poe's cheek. In the long silence that followed, Finn came to Poe's side and Han drifted to his wife's.

Leia's voice was shaky, on the verge of tears. Tears not just for Poe's mistake...but for all of it. For Ben. For the treaty. For her people. "Do you know what my family sacrificed to make peace with the tyrant Snoke? You spat on ten years of work. You've invited war to our shores. How dare you?"

This time Poe had no words. It was Finn who spoke. "He didn't act alone." Said the high king's ward. "It was my decision to come…and it wasn't just for the reasons you think."

Han folded his arms over his chest, waiting for what he was certain would be a flimsy excuse.

Finn produced a rolled parchment from his cloak and held it out to the princess. "It's the map to Lost City. Snoke bribed one of your Captain's for it months ago. The peace treaty was a ruse. He's been after Lost City the whole time."

Leia took the scroll, unrolling it slowly. Her mouth fell open as the map of Lost City unfurled before her. Han cursed under his breath. It had been a trap and they'd walked right into it.

"Is this the only copy of the map?" Leia asked incredulously.

Finn nodded.

Leia looked a the map for a long moment finally, lifting her eyes to her husband. "To Jedha." She said.

"To Jedha." Han bellowed to the crew.

* * *

Kylo made his way to the secluded spring at the base of the cliffs upon which Moraband's palace stood. He perched on the pebbled shore, sighing as the sunlight warmed his pale skin. His mind pondered the turn of events.

Snoke was going to Jedha of all places.

A lifetime ago, Kylo had been a different man, and that man had called Jedha home.

When he'd turned his back on Jedha, he'd done so with no intention of returning there in this life…but he could hardly disobey a direct order from the King of Kings. Snoke expected Kylo and his Warriors of Ren to lead the attacks. It would be Kylo's greatest achievement. The war he was made for.

"You seem awful lost in thought, Grandson."

Kylo peeled open his eyes and nodded to his grandfather who slowly emerged from the spring's waters, skin and tunic dry as the desert sand.

"I assume you are here to talk about Jedha." Said Anakin.

"You know?"

The Nymph chuckled, "Oh, Olympus is in shambles over it. The Gods are waging their own verbal wars as we speak." Anakin perched beside his grandson and placed a hand on Kylo's ripping shoulder. "You are torn."

Kylo shook his head in denial but he found that he couldn't make his tongue obey. "Yes. I don't want to go back there. You told me when I left that Jedha was not my destiny."

Anakin nodded, this was the answer he'd been expecting. "The force works in strange ways. Your destiny has changed. I have seen it."

"What am I to do?"

"It is not a question of what you must do...but rather what you will do." Anakin looked away. He picked up a seashell, dusting the sand away so that it shone the same way his fair skin shone in the sunlight. "Do you remember what I told you when I gifted you with your armor?"

"The prophecy? Yes. My name, the one I chose for myself, Kylo Ren, is destined to last through the ages."

"Well, that was only half of the prophecy."

"Why didn't you tell me there was more?"

"You were not ready to hear it. Now, you are. The rest of the prophecy says that, if you go to war, men will tell your story throughout the ages…but you will never return from Jedha. Your glory walks hand in hand with your doom. You have two paths-one dark, one light. That choice is one only you can make."

"I will die there...in Jedha." Kylo slowly nodded, not entirely surprised by that. He'd always known he would go out with a weapon in his hand. It was a good death. An honorable death.

Anakin said nothing. Instead, he enclosed his palms over the seashell. When he opened them again, the shell had been transformed into a beautiful necklace of pearls. He held it up to the sunlight, admiring his work for a moment before pressing it into Kylo's hands.

"Grandfather—" Kylo turned to find that Anakin was gone. Kylo ran his fingers over the smooth flat pearls. Anakin's words sinking deeper and deeper into his mind. Your glory walks hand in hand with your doom. It didn't scare him they way it might've scared other men, men with families, men with things to lose. Kylo had none of that. Kylo had only his name and his sword…and the promise of glory.

He was going to Jedha.


	3. Ch 2: PolemistÍs tis Nýchta

"Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter."

― **Homer** , **The Iliad**

* * *

 **Ch 2:**

 **PolemistÍs tis Nýchta**

Rey lie on her back beneath a laurel tree. It was her favorite spot for meditation. The field of yellow daffodils that unfurled around her made it feel as though she was lying on the very surface of the sun.

Her eyes drifted closed and her mind focused on the feel the thin fabric of her robes rustling against her thighs in the breeze. She tried to clear her mind as the elder Jedi priests taught her.

There was nothing.

Only flowers.

Sky.

Breeze.

Ships…wait, ships?

Rey's eyes sprang open.

From her hill she could see the walls of Jedha to the North, the wide river Scamander to the East and the beach to the South. If she squinted, she could, in fact, make out the faint outlines of Princess Leia's fleet. A wide, dimpled grin split her face and she scrambled to her feet, dusting errant flower petals from her white robes as she ran toward the Sun God's temple at the crest of the hill.

"They're back!" She yelled as she ran through the doorless entryway. She nearly bowled over poor old Master Kenobi. "Sorry." She squeaked.

He furrowed his brow at her. "Running around screaming like a schoolgirl is unbecoming of a Jedi Priestess."

Rey struggled to even out her breathing. "I'm sorry, Master…but the fleet has returned. I can't wait to see them. It's been months!"

His face remained stern but there was a bemused grin behind his wise eyes. "Well then, you better get up to the palace to greet them, as it seems you are lost to me today."

"Do you mean it? You don't mind?"

"Go child."

Rey threw her arms around him before her mind could warn her against it. The Jedi did not believe in physical contact. Master Kenobi flinched under her embrace. She retreated at once, cheeks burning. "Sorry…I'll—I'll just go. Thank you."

She waved once more and scurried out of the temple. She ran across the sandy plains to the waiting gates of Jedha set into the city's impenetrable walls. The city streets were wild with activity.

The shops and stalls beneath the colorful awnings which lined either side of the Agora were alive with crowds and the noise of city life. It wasn't a narrow street but the size of the crowd made it so. At each stall, shoppers haggled and vendors shouted about sales on bread and oils. Rey elbowed and shoved her way through the crowds, making it to the palace road with only a few minor bodily collisions.

Up the marble paved road, the palace was equally chaotic. The scouts had already brought the news of the fleet's return and preparations were underway to welcome the Princess and her family home. Rey decided to stay out of the servants' way. She took up a post just inside the double doors where she waited, agonizing each second until their arrival.

It took them far too long. Rey had nearly worn a hole in the floor with her pacing by the time the towering double doors parted. First to enter was the petite princess, her grey streaked brown hair plaited and piled atop her head.

"Leia!" Rey ran forward, this time not hesitating before enveloping the shorter woman in a hug. Leia giggled and hugged her back.

"Easy there, kid. You'll suffocate her." Came a gruff male voice.

"Han!" Rey greeted her surrogate father in kind.

"Look at you, Rey." Leia stepped back to admire Rey's pristine white robes. "An acolyte of the light. Have we really been gone so long?"

"I bet there are more than a few heartbroken men in the city," said Han, ruffling Rey's hair.

Another male voice spoke, "I know there's at least one."

"Poe!" Rey tackled her foster brother to the ground, peppering his tan face with kisses.

Poe chuckled and accepted a hand up when Rey finally released him. "We missed you too, Peanut."

"Did you bring me anything? Pearls from Moraband?"

"Well…" Poe glanced nervously at the Princess. "Not pearls exactly."

Rey felt the tension that suddenly sprang up between the group. She studied Poe. His head was slightly bowed, his face repentant—a look she couldn't ever recall seeing on him before. He was the greatest warrior in their city—some said in any city. He was usually all smiles and bravado. This new shade of him unsettled her from surface to core.

Poe stepped to the side and Rey took in the sight of a second young man, around their age. His dark skin was foreign to their shores. He was handsome, like Poe, though less fierce somehow.

"May I present…Finn of Moraband," said Poe.

"Finn of Jedha." Leia corrected with that tone of hers that left no room for argument.

Finn. That was a name that Rey did know. High King Snoke had a ward named Finn, one who was rumored to be a very good archer and a strategist to boot.

"Nice to meet you Finn of Jedha." Ray gave a polite curtsey. She couldn't take her eyes off Poe and the guilt etched on his handsome face. There was one hell of a story behind this and she was desperate to hear it.

"Well, now that we are all acquainted, I'm going to lie down," said Leia. "I've had nothing but those gods forsaken cots on the Falcon for a month. I crave a real bed."

She and Han excused themselves. Poe mumbled something about showing Finn to their quarters. They'd slipped away but Rey followed at their heels, making it known that Poe was not getting off that easily and that she demanded a full explanation, full of details and voice acting—costumes if possible. She did love a good show.

* * *

The metallic clang of steel echoed across the ruins. Phasma smiled as she approached. Her smile widened at the panting breath, the scuffling of sandaled feet—the sounds of battle—sounds she knew well.

She came up over the rise and stood amidst the half walls in what had once been the grand ballroom of a palace long since forgotten. Kylo Ren towered in the center of the cracked stone foundation. His dark hair whipped about his face. His broad shoulders were hunched, as his right hand clutched the hilt of an iron sword. His slitted dark eyes scanned the ruins. He cut a terrifying silhouette, even for Phasma who liked to think of him as a friend.

She'd never seen anything like him. The way his body moved through the air when he fought was poetry written in sword thrusts, rolls and leaps.

He was the best warrior of his generation.

PolemistÍs tis Nýchtas—Warrior of the Night.

Some said he was a God—immortal—unkillable.

Phasma hoped for the sake of the Jedhan War that it was true. She had a home and wife waiting for her back in Illum.

Kylo's head whipped to the left. In one smooth motion he crouched, scooped up a spear and hurled it through the air. The spear disappeared through a hole that must have once been a window. A squeal came from behind the wall.

Hux emerged into the clearing, a spear poking out of his breastplate, near the shoulder. It hadn't been hard enough to pierce the bronze, only enough to dent it and give the rosy haired man a start.

"Oy, that's cheating," Hux complained as he yanked the spear out.

Kylo arched one dark brow. "There are no rules in real warfare. You'll live longer if you embrace that."

Phasma chuckled, alerting them to her presence. "Not turning into a philosopher on us are you, Ren?"

Kylo sneered in offense. "Just trying to keep this one alive a bit longer. I tried to convince him to sit this war out but the stubborn bastard challenged me to a duel instead."

"You're both going then? To Jedha?" She watched the warlord's face closely, noting the way he flinched at the words. She was one of the few people who knew his true heritage—his true name. She'd wondered from the minute Snoke declared war what Kylo's thoughts on the matter would be. How much would it cost him to go to war against his own people? Against his own family? How far would he go for glory?

Hux grinned and slapped the larger man on the shoulder, "You think we're going to miss a chance at the richest city in the world? Of course we're going! I'm going to make my fortune then live out my days on the beaches of Scarif."

"You won't object if I sail with you then?" Phasma said.

"The Knights of Ren are already making preparations," said Kylo, "We sail at dawn. We would be honored to have you with us." He examined the head of his spear, testing the sharpness of the point with his index finger. "If anything should happen to me…I want the two of you to take command of the Knights."

Hux laughed, "As if anything could hurt you. Warrior of the Night."

Something dark passed over Kylo's aquiline features. "Just swear it."

"Alright, no need to get emotional," said Hux.

* * *

The next morning found Kylo Ren, PolemistÍs tis Nýchta, Warrior of the Night, at the helm of his finest warship flanked on either side by Queen Phasma of Illum and Hux, his childhood companion and closest confidant.

Their ship, though admittedly grand, was dwarfed by the sheer might of High King Snoke's amassed fleet. 1200 ships sailed in formation across the Agean. Hundreds of thousands of men on a fool's errand to reclaim Finn.

Kylo knew it went deeper than that. No one man was worth all this.

Snoke had his eye on Jedha.

Finn or no Finn, this war wouldn't end until Jedha lie in ashes and Lost City was under Snoke's control.


	4. Ch 3: Deference

"His descent was like nightfall."

― **Homer** , **The Iliad**

 **Ch 3:**

 **Deference**

Rey's hazel eyes bounced back and forth from Poe to Finn and back again. "So, let me get this straight…you smuggled him onto the Falcon in the dead of night without Snoke's knowledge or permission…and Leia let you both live to tell about it?" She flopped back onto the tasseled cushions arranged on the tile of Poe's balcony overlooking the rose gardens. "I always miss the good stuff."

A sense of calm washed over her. How many endless nights had been spent this way? Lying on the silk cushions, staring up at the stars, laying bare her innermost thoughts to her adoptive brother. Now, there was three of them. Rey had always known that one day she'd have to share Poe…the day had come quicker than expected but she already liked Finn. He was the calm to Poe's storm.

"Leia would've killed us…but we brought an insurance policy." Said Poe, absently rubbing his cheek.

"Which was?" Rey pushed up onto her elbows to look at them.

"Snoke had a map to Lost City," said Finn. "One of Jedah's Captains was captured a few months back and Snoke tortured it out of him. I found out about it in passing. Didn't think much of it until the Summit."

Rey's face turned serious. "Gods…what was he planning to do with it?"

Neither answered. They didn't need to. He was planning to conquer Lost City and probably Jedha too.

"I guess we should be thanking you then, Finn. It was brave of you, leaving like that."

"I like to think my abs played a small role in it." Said Poe lounging theatrically against his own cushions.

Finn blushed and Rey felt her own cheeks grow hot. "Watch your tongue, Champion. I'm a priestess now." Rey tossed a grape at Poe's forehead. He tilted his head just in time to catch it in his mouth which warped into a salacious grin.

Poe waggled his dark brows as he chewed the grape. "How you chose a life of celibacy, I will never know. I blame inexperience. If you knew what you were missing you wouldn't be so quick to give it up."

"Why did you choose the Jedi Order? If you don't mind my asking," said Finn.

Rey picked at the hem of her white robes. "I can't explain it really. I've always felt this pull to honor the gods and serve them. I never had a family…until I came here, of course. All I ever had was myself. No one to talk to. No physical contact of any kind. Growing up without that…I knew it was something I wouldn't miss if I took the oath. The love of the Gods is enough for me. It is more than I had as a child."

"That is the most depressing thing I have ever heard," said Finn, only half teasing.

Poe tossed another grape into his mouth. "I think that you just haven't found the right man yet. There's no shame in changing your mind you know?"

"Well, I've seen all that Jedha has to offer and I can confidently say…no, thank-you."

"Can't say I don't agree with you there," Poe smiled fondly at Finn, interlacing their fingers together. "I had to cross the world to find this one."

"So, when is the wedding?" Rey asked, catching both men off guard. Their eyes widened.

Poe started to say that they hadn't exactly discussed it but his words were cut off by the sound of a dozen drums, thundering down from the watchtowers. Their heads snapped in unison toward the city beyond the balcony.

"What does it mean?" Rey asked, knowing Poe would understand the coded message in the beating drums.

"Invaders." He said gravely.

* * *

Kylo sat crosslegged on the deck of the Finalizer. His iron sword lay across his lap. He moved an oiled cloth methodically back and forth across the metal, polishing until he could see his own reflection…and what a reflection it was.

When he caught sight of his dark eyes he saw only death and ruin staring back. Men would sing of his deeds, of his wrath for the rest of time. It was all anyone would remember of Kylo of Ren when he was gone. The man beneath the armor—Ben—would be forgotten to the vortex of time.

The warlord could sense Hux lurking near by, probably worrying his lip between his teeth, desperate to come offer words of consolation. But Kylo wanted none of his coddling. Not today. He'd always known this was his destiny. He'd been waiting for it. Training for it. Envisioning it. Now, destiny had come to claim him and he was ready.

He would face his fate without trepidation.

Jedha came into view on the horizon. They would touch down on the sandy beaches by dawn if the winds held up. A cold breeze blustered by but only his sails seemed to catch it. His ship inched just ahead of the other ships around them, as if the gods themselves were pushing him closer to his fate.

Gods but the sight of his birthplace made him sick. He told himself he was above guilt. He'd done as the gods commanded him to do and in exchange they'd made him a demigod—a warlord who would make the world shudder.

But he was not above guilt.

Seeing the beach where he'd learned to run and swim as a boy made his heart ache. He allowed himself a moment of nostalgia, watching a hawk swoop against the moonlight before touching down in the sand. The hawk had something clutched in its talons—a fish of some sort. The hawk released it, letting the fish flop about on the sand before promptly jabbing its beak into its flesh over and over until the flopping stopped and the sand was stained with blood.

This was no homecoming. This was a reckoning. He couldn't afford to forget that.

Kylo looked around at his men. His Knights of Ren were the fiercest he could find. Other soldiers would kill to be invited into his inner fold. But that honor had to be bought and paid for in blood.

The rest of Snoke's armies knew this. Kings from the other kingdoms throughout Greece had sailed to Moraband to rally behind Snoke—each of them with their own ulterior motives. As they'd prepared their ships, Kylo had walked amongst the foreign troops. Whispers followed his every step. Is he really a god? Is he the true Warrior of the Night?

Damn right he was…and he'd prove it to them here and now. If this was to be his final cry into the night—it would be a vicious one. Kylo wouldn't let Jedha come to him. He would dive out and claim his birthright.

He stood and leapt up onto a crate so that he towered over the men scurrying about the deck. He thrust his sword in the air. "Knights of Ren!" He bellowed, "Brothers! Look there—" He pointed the blade toward Jedha as many sets of eyes stopped their tasks to focus on him. He even saw some of the sailors on the nearby vessels turn to watch the scene unfolding on the Finalizer. "Jedha waits and it promises riches beyond our imaginings. You ask if I am a God—the answer is yes, because I choose to be. Immortality waits for all of us on the enemy's shores…it is up to each of you to take it!" The crowd cheered. Kylo felt adrenaline, his constant companion in this life flooding his veins. "Take up the oars and row, brothers! Make the Knights of Ren first to meet the shores! Immortality waits for no man—we must chase it down and capture it!"

A hundred oars emerged from portholes and the Finalizer quickly began to pull ahead of the rest of the fleet. He saw Snoke watching from his own ship, his ancient face an unreadable mask. Kylo gave a theatrical bow to the King of Kings from his perch on the crate. Snoke turned away.

"Well, that was—theatrical," said Phasma as Kylo hopped down and strode toward the bow to watch Jedha's shore come into focus.

"You think history remembers boring old hags like you?" He teased. "You have to put on a show. Light a fire beneath those rumors."

"I don't know. Who can say who will survive the holocaust of memory? I think I shall be famous in my own right…perhaps more-so even than you," she said.

"I'll drink to that," said Hux, who'd had a few already judging by the way he swayed on his feet.

* * *

Poe set about strapping on his armor from the stand. Breastplate, grieves, helmet. Finn was pacing the room, unsure how to be helpful. Rey could not tear her eyes from the horizon. Had she really been foolish enough to hope that Snoke would let Finn go without a fight? It seemed so much trouble to cross an ocean for one man. Yet, here they were…and the drums beat on.

She knew she should be angry with Poe for inviting the enemy to their shores…but she just couldn't find it in her. He was in love. Was it so wrong that two people in love should fight to be together—no matter the cost?

The romantic girl in her said no, it was not wrong.

But the pragmatic woman in her, the woman who had survived slavery only to rise above it said yes, it was wrong.

Love was not worth this.

The happiness of two people—even of her foster brother whom she loved more dearly than any who walked the earth—was not worth the lives of millions.

She hadn't heard Leia storm in, but there she and a fully-armored Han stood, conferring with Poe and Finn.

"I'm not helpless. I will fight with you," Finn insisted. "Why do you think Snoke kept me so close. I am one of his best archers."

"No," said Leia, arms folded across her chest, "You are too valuable to die in a petty skirmish. If we have any hope of ending this war—it rides on your continued survival."

Finn was about to argue but he was silenced by Han. "I hate to say it because we could use all the warriors we can get…but the Princess is right. Snoke will want you alive."

"You are not ransoming my—my—Finn," Poe shouted.

"Who said anything about ransom?" Said Han.

"I know what you're thinking and I'll not agree to it," said Poe.

Leia frowned at both of them. "Enough! Finn is staying in the palace. Poe and Han will ride out and lead the counter-attacks. I will send an emissary to my brother. We will need him back before this war breaks out in full. Any questions?" She waited. No one spoke. "Good. Now move!"

The group seemed to have forgotten Rey. They dispersed to carry out the princess's orders without so much as a goodbye. Rey didn't mind. She had her own plans.

It was easy enough to slip out of the palace in the chaos. The city was a bit more difficult to navigate but she managed. Soon, she was out of breath and stumbling up the hill to the Sun God's temple just as the sun appeared above the horizon.

"Master Kenobi!" Her voice echoed off the austere stone walls.

The elderly priest emerged from a side room, eyes bloodshot, white hair askew. "What is it child?"

"The Achaeans have come. We must leave the temple. You have to get inside the walls of the city."

Master Kenobi's brows pressed together. "Why have they come here?"

"For war," she said, not caring to elaborate considering the current circumstances.

He said nothing. Instead, he tottered over to the altar and set about lighting candles.

"What are you doing?" Rey asked. "Did you not hear me? We have to leave."

"The Greeks will not desecrate a holy place. We are safe here. Come help me, child. We must ask for the Sun God's blessings in this coming war."

Rey grit her teeth but nodded. What he said was true. Any man who would harm a priest on hallowed ground was an abomination that Rey didn't believe could exist. All the same, she made sure that her bow staff was in arm's reach as she set about lighting candles and chanting with her master.

* * *

They reached the beaches as the first Greek ships touched down. Armored men oozed out of the hull like swarms of ants. They cut across the beach at a run, spears, swords and arrows at the ready.

Han and Poe each led their own legions into the fray. Poe's forces charged to the beaches while Han's stayed on the perimeter, firing arrows and catapulting fireballs at the advancing troops.

The first wave of Greeks broke through the front lines. Han watched a small group in dark armor with crescent moons painted on their helmets, headed up toward the Sun God's temple at the top of the hill overlooking the beach. Rey's temple. Thank the gods she was safe in the palace.

Han tugged at the reins and his chariot charged up toward the temple. Others might've been comforted by the belief that no man would harm a priest in their sacred place…but Han had spent the better part of his life as a pirate. He knew the darker side of humanity—the side brought out by war and greed. He saw it in the eyes of each Greek he struck down as he charged the hill. The madness. The bloodlust. He would never reach the temple in time.

Then, he stopped. All thoughts of the temple lost to sheer awe as he watched a beast of a man charging toward the temple. The man's fair skin shone in the early dawn, in sharp contrast to his dark bronze armor. His legs, visible beneath the short tunic of his armor were cut from marble, impossibly strong. He watched as the man threw a spear at a Jedhan at least thirty kilometers off. It whizzed through the air finding purchase in the Jedhan soldier's eye socket. It was an impossible throw—and yet Han had just watched it with his own eyes.

He knew then, without needing to be told that this was the Warrior of the Night—Kylo Ren. Word of his conquests in battle had reached across the world, even as far as Jedha.

Han followed the demigod into the temple, his battle plans overtaken by curiosity. His sense returned to him as he entered the temple. Crumpled bodies littered the floor, their white robes stained red. Statues were toppled over, some broken and defaced. The men who'd stormed the temple had already stripped it of its riches and disappeared.

A wheezing sound came from the base of the altar. Han rushed over. He hunched over Master Kenobi's crumpled body. Blood pooled on the priest's lips and his eyes focused on some other plane as he drew his last breaths. The priest was muttering something over and over.

Han had to lean his ear close to make out the words…or rather the word, just one—Rey. Han would've sworn that his heart stopped beating. Rey had been here. Where was she? Was she alive? He stood up, nearly tripping over something lying in the isle…a bow staff. Han picked it up in trembling fingers. No. Why would she have come here? The answer formed before he even finished thinking the question. She came to save her fellow priests…because that's who she was.

He'd have fallen to his knees and wept right there amidst the battle if not for the deep voice that cut through the temple.

"You must be Han of the less-than-noble gens Solo."

Han looked up in time to see a dark figure sweep out the back door.

Han found him on the portico, perched atop a marble plinth that had once displayed a statue of Apollo. Kylo Ren was staring out at the battle, exuding an air of cold satisfaction.

Han drew his sword, "Fight me."

"It is too early in the day for killing royals," said the warlord without turning his eyes from the carnage.

"These priests were unarmed. It sacrilege. Do you care so little for the Gods? Apollo won't stand for this. He is the patron god of Jedha, of the Light. He will protect us from you."

"Where is he then? Why has he not struck me down?"

For that Han had no argument. He believed in the gods only as much as was required of the husband of a royal. He'd personally never seen them, despite his wife's familiarity with them.

Kylo jumped from the plinth and stalked like a giant panther toward Han. "It was my men who killed your priests…I, personally, have not done anything to anger your patron…so don't hold your breath waiting for him to dispense justice."

"There was a priestess—a young girl—she was not amongst the dead. Where is she?"

"Do I look like I keep tabs on sniveling virgins?"

"Why did you come to Jedha? You're not here for Finn."

A gruff laugh that was akin to the sound of chains rattling came from the warlord. "None of us are here for Finn." He turned away from Han, not even concerned that the Jedhan might attack. "Go home to your Princess. Come back when you are prepared to fight me."

Han hesitated, genuinely torn between fleeing and striking from behind. There was no honor in either option…but there was more troubling him than honor alone. There was something familiar about Kylo Ren. His face was obscured by the helmet so he couldn't see anything of his features save for his lips and chin…still, it was in the way he carried himself, the tone of his voice. Something stirred in Han. Something long forgotten.

He ran.


	5. Ch 4: Spoils of War

"Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen, but his country's cause. "

― **Homer** , **The Iliad**

Ch 4:

Spoils of War

"What do you mean Rey's gone?" Poe stood in the palace war room, surrounded by the high council of Jedha. They'd searched the entire city. Rey was gone. It was an unavoidable reality at this point…but his mind could not accept it. "She wouldn't have gone out there. She's smarter than that."

"From what we can tell, she was taken from the temple. She went to warn the priests." Said Han. The prince consort's eyes were on the bow staff resting in Leia's lap. The princess skimmed her fingers reverently over the polished wood, eyes distant.

"So, we go get her back," said Poe.

Leia lifted her gaze to her adoptive son. "Poe, think. We need a general right now…not a grieving brother. The Achaeans outnumber us…and they have Kylo Ren."

"We have Poe!" Several of the Princess's aging advisors shouted from their chairs arranged around the dais. "There is no warrior better than ours."

Antenor, one of the court's chief advisors rose to his feet. "I saw a hawk with a salmon clutched in its talons this morning. It was a sign. The Gods favor our cause. Han said that the Greek's desecrated the temple…killed Apollo's priests. The Sun God is angry!"

Poe glared at the old man. Earlier he'd suggested that Finn simply surrender himself and that this act would solve all of their problems. Thus, Poe's opinion of Antenor was irreparably damaged. "So what do your bird signs suggest we do? Other than surrender Finn, which we have already agreed is not an option."

"We attack at dawn." The advisor replied. "Take our forces and drive the Greeks from our beaches."

"That's suicide," Poe insisted. "Just let me take a few men, we can slip into the camp while they are asleep and get Rey back. As for the rest…we need to wait and see what the Greek will do."

"You don't even know where Rey is. You'll be caught before you can find her." Said Han.

Poe clutched his dark hair between his fingers and growled in frustration. As the arguments continued, he stalked back toward his chair…but he stopped short because the chair beside his was empty. Finn was gone.

Poe fled the war room not bothering to see if anyone noticed or cared. He knew where Finn was going. The only question was, would he reach him in time?

The champion of Jedha was at the top of a grand stone staircase that led down to the outer Bailey of the palace when he saw the dark cloaked figure fleeing toward the gates.

"Stop!" Poe yelled. The figure froze. Poe took the stairs two at a time, stumbling forward until he was looking Finn in the eye. "Don't do this."

"It's the only way to end this. Too many men have died for me already."

Poe cupped Finn's cheek, smiling at the warmth of his smooth skin, "I love that you want to sacrifice yourself for us…but it won't make a difference. Do you really think Snoke will change his mind if you come back? That he will just gather up his thousand ships and say, _nevermind, back to Greece_? This war is bigger than you or me or what we did. It was going to happen regardless. He wants Lost City and he wants to see Jedha in ruin. It was never about you."

Finn had slowly unraveled during Poe's speech and now pulled Poe into an embrace, fingers clutched into the fabric of his tunic. "I'm so sorry. For everything. So many people are going to die."

"I know," said Poe. "But we will get through it together—I am worried about Rey, though. We have to get her back. I don't even want to imagine what will happen to her—what might've already happened…"

"Agreed," Finn nodded, pulling back slightly. "We will find a way."

"No more talk of surrender?" Poe asked.

"None."

Poe nodded and hand in hand they turned and went back to the war room, back to the endless back and forth between old men who were too comfortable behind their high walls.

* * *

Kylo stalked into High King Snoke's ship which was beached and serving now as his headquarters. During the bloodshed, the non-soldiers—attendants, stewards and the like, had began to set up a camp on the beaches. They pulled the ships onto the sand, put up tents, set up a makeshift agora. It was amazing how quickly the Greeks took ownership of the sand.

While the beach was being retrofitted into Greek city, the Kings and Warlords gathered in Snoke's makeshift throne room to celebrate their first victory.

Kylo stood to the left of the dais where Snoke sat on a throne—of course he'd found room to bring a throne with him from Greece. Kylo rolled his eyes at the pomp of it all. Every inch of the warrior's skin was coated in a grotesque blend of blood, sweat, and sand and his veins thrummed with energy. It was always that way after a fight. It would be hours before he could sit still or find any sort of calm. He never felt more alive than he did in those moments when he walked off a battlefield—sword still in hand, head held high.

He longed for a bath, a meal and possibly a woman to relieve some of this tension…but he was forced to be here, listening to men groveling over Snoke's victory—though, it wasn't Snoke's at all. He'd been here, in his ship, during the battle, watching from a safe distance.

Phasma stood beside Kylo, equally filthy and bleeding from a shallow cut on her bicep. Hux wasn't in the throne room—he wasn't a King or leader in his own right so, he was out celebrating with the mass of soldiers on the beach. Kylo wished he were there instead of here.

White haired Nestor, one of the oldest Kings bowed at Snoke's feet and kissed his ringed hands. "An inspiring victory my liege."

Snoke clapped his hands and said, "It is time to divide the spoils." An attendant came from a door behind the throne, dragging a young girl by her wrists which were bound with rope. Her robes were filthy, but even Kylo could see that they were those of a priestess.

The attendant stopped with the girl in front of the towering pile of gold and gems that had been amassed from the looting of the temple.

Snoke began another droning speech, but Kylo heard none of it. He was watching the girl, curious beyond measure. It was the way she held her nose in the air, even now with her robes in tatters, face bruised and bloodied and her wrists bound. She refused to be cowed…Kylo found it admirable.

"You should take her," Phasma said in his ear. He turned to the Queen of Illum who was smirking—she was always smirking. She had a smirk for a face. It was because she always knew more than she should.

"Why would I do that?" Asked Kylo.

"Because you know what will happen to her if she stays here. Claim her as your war prize."

Kylo looked back to the girl. He didn't care what happened to her one way or the other. What would he do with a slave girl? This was a war…he had no use for chattle.

The girl's wide hazel eyes found him. It wasn't a look of recognition. If she knew he was the Warrior of the Night, she didn't show it. No…what he saw in her eyes was pity. As if she thought herself better than this. Better than him.

Kylo could not abide pity.

Let her hate him…but never pity.

He hadn't even realized he was speaking until her dark eyebrows creased and her expression changed to one of confusion. "King of Kings, as I am your best warlord, it is customary that I should have first choice of my war prize."

Phasma chuckled softly. Kylo fought the urge to stomp on her meddling foot.

Snoke was wearing a smirk of his own—though on him it was a violent gash that split his face in two. "Go on then, son of the gods, what would you have as your prize?"

"The girl."

The silence that followed was only broken by the hushed murmurs passing from one King to another in the crowded ship cabin.

Snoke's eye moved over the priestess inch by inch, as if he was searching for an explanation. "Very well," he said, "Have her. It's a shame though—I hate to lose such a pretty thing."

"Thank-you, King of Kings." Kylo caught sight of a face he'd been otherwise ignoring. Bazine of Netal was standing in the shadows behind the throne. If her eyes had been blades they'd have shredded the girl into a thousand pieces.

Kylo wanted no more of any of this. He stalked over to his prize and took her ropes from the attendant. He bowed his head in deference to the high king and yanked the girl out of the room.

When they were outside the ship he dropped her rope and said, "Come, Priestess." He walked but stopped after a few strides when he realized she was not following. He gave a frustrated growl and stalked back to her.

He scooped her up in his arms, tossing her over one shoulder before he resumed the journey through the throngs of now drunk soldiers toward his section of the camp.

She squealed and commenced kicking and scratching at any part of him she could reach. "Put me down you barbarian! I can walk!"

"Obviously, you can't. I gave you that option and you refused it."

"You'll never keep me here. I'll run the minute your back is turned."

"Not if I keep you tied up."

He received several whistles and catcalls from the men as he passed with the girl slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour. She had some very colorful responses to that—responses which better suited a sailor than a priestess.

They reached his tent on the outskirts of the camp, near the line of trees that marked the transition from beach to forest. Hux and Phasma had their own tents nearby. Two of his knights stood guarding the entrance to his tent. Kylo waved them off and went inside.

He deposited the girl on the ground near one of the tent poles—a fifteen foot tree trunk at least a foot in diameter. He split the ropes binding her wrists with a dagger and yanked her arms behind her to wrap around the tree trunk. He retied her wrists and abandoned her for his basin of water.

Her back slid down the trunk until her ass, which was rather perky—not that he'd noticed—hit the rug covered dirt floor. He watched her as he stripped off the filthy grieves from his calves, then the bracers on his forearms, his breastplate, and finally the leather under tunic, leaving him completely naked.

He set about sponging the blood off his body. At some point she turned her eyes to him. She squeaked and looked away. He had to grin at that—wasn't every day he got to strip nude in front of a virgin priestess. He couldn't resist having a little fun.

When he was passably clean, he tied a long skirt around his hips and prowled over to her. "You're royalty, aren't you? The way you peer down your nose at men and kings alike." He grabbed a handful of her chestnut hair and inhaled the faint scent of jasmine and lye. "You must be royalty." He rose and came to crouch before her where he could get a better look at her face.

She had a split lip and a large purple bruise covering her left cheek, but beneath that Kylo saw a pert nose, a light dusting of freckles, shapely lips, large hazel eyes…and he let himself admit that she was attractive. "Do you have a name?"

She clucked her tongue, "Do I have one? Everyone has a name."

"And what is yours?"

"You killed Apollo's priests. They were my friends."

"I've killed a lot of men," he said by way of response. He could've pointed out that his men killed them and that he'd had no part in that…but what did it matter? He was killer in her eyes whether he'd killed the priests or not.

Her next question caught him off-guard. "Aren't you afraid?"

"Of what?"

"The Sun God. The light."

"Apollo? Why would I be afraid of him? Here you are, his acolyte, my prisoner, his temple lies in ruin—and yet, I am unharmed. Where is he? Why has he not struck me down? What's he waiting for?"

"The right time to strike."

Kylo laughed at that. "If you'd seen the gods, as I have, you wouldn't revere them so. What is your name?"

Through narrowed eyes she said, "Rey."

"How fitting."

"Why did you claim me?"

He shrugged, "Maybe I wanted a servant. Men get lonely in war."

She swallowed hard but the defiant fire never left her eyes. "Don't you have a name?"

"I have many…but you may call me Kylo."

Now, the recognition sparked. It was a look he'd grown used to any time his name was uttered. There was a small trace of awe in her hazel eyes and a part of him swelled with pride at that.

"They say you're immortal—is it true?"

He tilted his head, "What do you think?"

"I think you are nothing but flesh and bone—a man—just like all the others."

The pride vanished. He sneered at her. She seemed satisfied that she'd struck a cord. "I am nothing like the others. Don't you ever imply anything like that again." He rose and went to the corner of the tent where furs and cushions had been piled to form a sort of sitting area. His men had left a bowl of grapes and cheeses there for him. He hungrily ate, ignoring the girl.

"Why did you come to Jedha?" Rey's voice was quieter this time, a bit timid. "You're not here for Finn."

"No. I'm not here for Finn." He went back to her, crouching before her once more, still holding a bunch of grapes. "I'm here for the same reason all men go to war. I want what all warriors want…I just want it more."

"You won't find it here. My brother will defeat you. He is the best warrior in the world. Better than you."

"We'll see, Priestess," Kylo said. His mind reeled at the new information. Brother. Poe was her brother. Which meant Han and Leia had adopted her as well. What little interest he had in her was gone—this girl was a piece of _them._ A piece of his family and, in turn, his past. He wanted no reminders of that.

His only consolation was that they would be missing her. By keeping her, he was causing them distress and that was enough for now.

* * *

Rey watched him move about the tent. He was like a giant cat, lithe and graceful but deadly. Why had she said that about Poe? She had wanted to anger him…and that was probably the stupidest thing she could've done in the situation.

He held her life in his hands. If anything she should be playing along, gaining his trust so that she might find a window of escape.

Instead she'd let her temper rule her—as the Jedi priests were always scolding her for—and she'd antagonized him… _him…_ Kylo Ren, a demigod, a killer.

Poe was right, she did have a death wish.

"You don't have to fear me, Priestess."

She almost laughed at that. If she didn't have to fear him, who should she fear?

He'd left then. A man had come and told him he was needed for something and he'd just left her there, tied to the tent pole. She scanned everything around her, there had to be something she could use…but there wasn't. However, she found that the ropes weren't as tight as they could've been. She slowly worked her wrists against the rough fibers and they eased.

It took nearly twenty minutes but she managed to get her hands free. She scrambled to her feet, eyes landing immediately on a spear in a basket that held several other weapons. She took a dagger and shoved it in the tie of her sandal, then grabbed the spear—it wasn't as sturdy as her staff—but it would have to do.

Footsteps scuffled in the sand at the tent's entrance. Damn. She pressed herself against the tent wall beside the entrance flaps and the moment the body emerged she swung the spear, clocking the man on the nose. It broke with an audible crunch.

It wasn't Kylo Ren.

A red haired man's hands flew to his now bleeding and broken nose. "Bloody Hell!" His eyes found her but she didn't stay to see what he would do. With him worried about his nose, she slipped out the tent's entrance and ran bodily into the iron wall that was Kylo Ren's chest. The force of it sent her into the air and slammed her onto her back in the sand.

It knocked the wind from her lungs, too. But she didn't have time to worry about that. She drew the dagger from her calf and pointed it at the dark warrior. "Stay back."

He was smiling at her. The bastard. Rey was also vaguely aware of a female's laughter nearby…as well as the red haired man moaning in pain.

Kylo looked up as the red haired man emerged from the tent. His smile turned into laughter. "Hux, please tell me you weren't injured by this slip of a girl."

"She's stronger than she looks," he complained.

"Rey," Kylo looked down at her, "put that dagger down before you hurt yourself. Do you even know how to use that thing?"

Truthfully, no, she didn't. Her staff was the only weapon King Luke had ever let her near—despite her complaints. He didn't think it proper for a girl to train with more violent weapons. While Poe got swords and spears and arrows…she got a staff and lessons on mediation.

Kylo plucked the dagger away with his experienced hands. Then, he plucked her from the sand and carried her back into the tent. Hux followed, along with the laughing woman—a tall blonde who looked deadly as an man Rey had ever seen.

"She broke my nose," Hux repeated for the third time. He sounded more surprised than anything.

"Blame Phasma. It was her idea to keep her." Kylo gave a vague wave to the blonde.

"It was _your_ idea…I merely nudged you in the right direction." Phasma turned to look at Rey, who had taken to trying to fit her body into the space between two large barrels of wine. "You're very brave, you know. Most wouldn't even attempt an escape like that."

"A word of advice, though," said Kylo. "You are far safer in here than you are out there. Those men would rape you, kill you, and throw your body to the sharks."

"Nice imagery," Hux rolled his eyes and sat on a cushion with his head tilted back to staunch the blood flowing from his nose.

"It's true," said Kylo.

Phasma sat beside Hux, still watching Rey with open curiosity. Rey didn't like her eyes. They reminded her of Luke's—always seeing, learning, evaluating. "Are you royalty?"

Kylo answered. "She's Leia's adopted daughter…am I right?"

Rey nodded.

Phasma's wry smile widened. "Well, that's an unexpected turn of events. How nice for you—"

"—Finish that sentence and I'll cut out your tongue," said Kylo. Rey thought he sounded mostly serious.

What had she meant by that? Rey studied her dark haired captor with renewed curiosity. What did the gods see in him? Why had they made him their champion?

She knew that there were benevolent gods…and others who were less upstanding. Light and dark. Rey had chosen to serve the Sun God Apollo for many reasons. He was the patron of Jedha for one thing…but also he was the light. He represented all things good in the world, all the things she valued.

Kylo Ren was none of those things.

The conversation continued. Rey watched the three of them interact. It reminded her of Poe. These three were obviously close. They had started drinking at some point, even offered her some which she refused.

They talked about the other kings. About Snoke. Bazine. The war. Then, Phasma said she was tired. She cast a knowing smirk at Rey and bid them all goodnight. The blonde woman bodily pulled Hux out of the tent after her, leaving Rey and Kylo alone once more.

Kylo stood and stretched his towering body. "I'm going to sleep. Do I need to tie you up or can I trust you not to try to escape again?"

"Do you seriously want me to answer that question?" Said Rey.

Kylo shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll tie you up…I just thought you'd be more comfortable without the ropes." He scooped up the bindings from before and crooked a finger in the air, beckoning her to come resume her position against the tent pole.

She walked toward him. "You are a strange man," She said as he tied her hands around the pole.

"It's a matter of perspective."

Her eyes tracked his movements as he went around the tent blowing out candles, leaving just enough light that he could see an eye on her. Then, he untied the wrap around his waist, letting it fall carelessly to the ground.

She couldn't look away—if she did, he would know that he'd won. So, Rey forced her eyes to remain on his face, forced her mind to ignore all the skin and muscles, and scars on display for her now. He was smirking—enjoying baiting her like this. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he was unnerving her.

He climbed onto the huge fur covered bed and threw a thin blanket over his lower half. "There, all covered up, Priestess."

"You're a barbarian."

He chuckled.


	6. Ch 5: Honor

"Yet still the heart in me swells up in anger, when I remember

the disgrace that he wrought upon me before the Argives,

the son of Atreus, as if I were some dishonoured vagabond."

― **Homer** , **The Iliad**

* * *

 **Ch 5:**

 **Honor**

It was early morning, not even quite dawn when Rey was awoken by the sounds of Kylo rustling about the tent. He wasn't in his armor this morning but instead a deep blue tunic and sandals that laced up his calves. His black hair, as always, made her swoon with envy. She didn't want to imagine what she looked like, dirt and leaves in her hair, blood crusted on her face.

She hadn't meant to fall asleep—hadn't even thought it was possible whilst tied upright to a pole…and Gods her body was suffering the effects of it. She couldn't even feel her hands.

"Where are you going?" Her voice came out heavy with sleep.

She'd startled him. His dark head whipped around to face her, the metal charm in the braid he wore behind his ear jingled.

He picked up a quiver of arrows and slung it over his shoulder, "Hunting."

"Untie me," she said, adding a, "please," after a few beats of silence.

"No."

"Then, take me with you. That way you can keep an eye on me."

"You'll only get in the way."

"Please…Kylo," his name felt foreign on her tongue. "I can't even feel my hands anymore."

He was so silent she thought he'd left, but then she felt him behind her and the ropes fell away. She pulled her hands into her lap, rubbing the raw purple lines encircling both wrists.

"Here," he shoved a leather bag into her hands. "Stay close to me and if you think about trying to escape…don't. I don't think I have to tell you that you wouldn't make it two feet before I caught you."

"This is my land…did it ever occur to you that I might know its ins and outs better than you do? I could hide and you'd never find me."

A dark look crossed his face. It happened a lot. She'd only been with him for a day and she'd already witnessed it several times. He stormed out of the tent pulling her along, giving her no choice but to follow.

The sky was a faint purple as the sun prepared to rise. The camp was still asleep, only a few people moved about. Kylo's long legs carried him faster than Rey could keep up by walking alone. She soon had to jog to avoid being dragged. Her breath was coming in fast, cold bursts by the time the were in the forest.

Kylo stopped amidst the trees, just at the bank of the river Scamander. He squinted his eyes as he looked to the opposite bank. "Keep quiet," he said. As if she needed to be told that. She'd been out hunting with Poe enough times to know how it was done.

Rey had tried to avoid looking at him for too long up to now. He was her country's enemy and her personal jailer…she needed to hate him but she did have eyes. Evil or no, he was a work of art. Which made sense really. She'd seen likenesses of the gods before, all of them flawless…and Kylo was one of them…or at least, half of him was.

Looking at him now—standing frozen in the dappled light, wind rustling his lustrous hair, corded muscles tight and holding up a bow like Apollo himself—it was easy to imagine a marble statue of him somewhere.

It was unfair really. Why had the gods made such a beautiful man and filled him with such a wicked soul?

He released her wrist. Rey left him searching for his prey. She spotted a blackberry bush a few feet away and tiptoed over to it. She began plucking the juicy berries and adding them to the leather bag.

"What are you doing?" he growled at her.

"What's it look like?"

"You don't know if those are edible."

"Actually I do. I'm not as helpless as I look. I spent a lot of time scavenging for food. I know everything in this forest," she popped one in her mouth and bit down, flashing him a triumphant smile.

He lowered his bow, brow furrowed. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "What you thought I grew up in the palace? Had everything handed to me?"

"You do live in the palace, though. Don't you?"

"Now…yes." She looked down at the bush, concentrating on her task instead of the confusion in his obsidian eyes.

"How old were you when Leia and Han took you in?" He'd been gravitating closer throughout the exchange and now he was close enough that Rey could feel the heat from his body brushing against hers. He really had no concept of physical boundaries—just hoisting her over his shoulder whenever he felt like it.

"I was twelve."

"And before that?"

"Before that nothing. It's none of your business." The moment felt intimate. When had that happened? She put some distance between them, taking her bag of berries and walking down the bank.

She knelt and dipped her hands into the water, washing away the dirt and blood.

"I was younger than you were when I left home—nine, I think. Can't even remember really." He was beside her, watching her clean her forearms and biceps. "Why don't you just get in? Your hair could use washing."

Without thinking she splashed water at his face. It was so like the teasing banter between her and Poe that she'd forgotten who she was really with. She expected him to be angry, but he chuckled and stood.

"Come to think of it, I could use a bath as well," he stripped off his tunic and sandals and jumped in the river, making sure to splash her as much as possible.

His upper body emerged right in front of where she crouched. He pushed his wet locks off his face and grinned. "Coming, Priestess?"

Water made pathways down his marble chest and along the deep rivets of his abs before rejoining the stream. His lower half was still in the water, though Rey could see the hazy outlines. Her mind screamed at her to look away but she could not.

She'd only ever seen Poe naked…he'd been injured once and she'd helped the healers attend him. But he was her brother, his body held no interest. She hadn't even paid attention to it. She'd thought this spoke to her destiny as a priestess—men were just not that interesting, not that tempting.

But this one was.

And that was a dangerous thing.

To her horror, she did not object to joining him. Instead, she said, "I can't swim." It came out coy, almost flirtatious and she was horrified at herself.

He tilted his head. "Well, that is unacceptable. We must teach you. Get in."

She did. Before she could lose her nerve she slid into the water, robes and all. He laughed at her as she clutched for purchase at the rocks along the bank. The current was strong beneath the surface, threatening to pull her along with it.

"It helps if you take your clothes off first." His hands pawed at her robes but she batted him away with one hand, nearly losing her grip on the bank as she did.

"My robes were dirty also—two birds with one stone."

"Now they're clean…and we need to get them off you. You'll never learn to swim that way. The fabric will weigh you down. If it makes you feel better, I won't look."

"Why don't I believe that?"

"Because you're a stubborn cow."

She'd have slapped him if her life hadn't depended on her keeping hold of the rocks. She felt the fabric at the hem of the robes traveling up toward her waist, exposing her calves and thighs. She squeaked when she realized it wasn't the current but Kylo, doing it. A strong arm snaked around her waist, stabilizing her in the current, the warm smooth skin a sharp contrast to the cool water.

Their bodies were diagonal to one another, forming a v with the length of their sides pressed together, anchored by his arm around her waist. One of her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"Let go. I've got you."

Her hands obeyed without thought…probably because her brain had shut off at the feel of his arm against her bare skin. With his free hand he lifted the robes further.

"Arms up," he said, finally pulling the filthy robes over her head. He didn't ask permission, and part of her was glad for that. She could cling to some amount of dignity knowing she hadn't explicitly allowed this—instead, he'd simply done as he saw fit.

Rey wrapped her free arm around her chest, covering as much as possible. To his credit, Kylo's eyes stayed on her face…but it wasn't much of a consolation. Even if he wasn't looking, she could feel his naked body pressed up against hers from ribs to hips, and it was far from innocent.

"Now, hold onto my forearms and turn to face me."

She braced herself as he'd instructed and they faced one another, eye level for once in the deep water.

"Move your legs in circles to tread water."

Her legs took on a rhythm of their own. She watched his face and he watched hers. It was uncomfortable but she wasn't going to be the first to look away. What was she doing? If she'd been thinking clearly she could've run from him the moment he jumped into he river.

"Tell me about your life before the palace. You said you were a scavenger?"

"I was a slave…my master, Unkar, was a Tinker in the city. I scavenged materials for him."

"And that's how the royals found you?"

"It was Poe who found me. He came into our shop. He was fourteen at the time," she hadn't even noticed he'd dropped one of her hands and now only held onto her left.

"Move your hand back and forth like this. Sort of like the tail of a fish," he demonstrated the movement and she copied with her free hand.

"Why did you leave home?" She'd shared a part of herself, he could at least do the same.

His free hand came up to tuck his shoulder-length hair behind one of his large ears. Rey smiled at their size. Larger than life, like the rest of him. "I didn't leave voluntarily. I was stolen…but as I grew older, I found I didn't want to go back."

She wanted to ask him more but they were interrupted by footsteps. Kylo clutched her to his chest with such speed, she didn't even have time to realize what was happening.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would." It was the blonde Queen, Phasma. She and Hux were standing on the bank, watching.

The redhead didn't look entirely pleased.

"It's not what it looks like," Rey insisted. "He's teaching me to swim."

"Ah, classic," said Hux.

"Did you need something?" Kylo released all but Rey's left hand, allowing her to tread on her own once more. She quickly ducked behind him, using his body as a shield to guard her nakedness.

"You weren't in your tent. We figured you went hunting. It's nearly eight—we were to spar before breakfast," Hux said impatiently.

"I forgot," said Kylo.

"I can see that," Phasma smiled.

"Let us get dressed. We'll meet you in the clearing we passed on the way into the forest," Kylo pointed off in the direction he meant. "Hux, would you mind bringing my sword?"

"Already did. Saw it in the tent and figured you forgot. I know you too well."

"Thank-you Hux," Kylo called to their retreating forms. He paddled them both to the bank and climbed out, hauling her out behind him.

"Turn around," Rey's eyes frantically searched for her robes. She hadn't seen where he'd thrown them.

"No," he was grinning down at her and standing too close.

"Where are my robes? You did this on purpose." She said through gritted teeth.

One dark eyebrow quirked, "Find them."

She was about to do just that but he grabbed hold of her wrist, fingers digging into the rope burns. "Let me go."

"Shut up," the flirtatious teasing was gone from his voice and Rey was momentarily panicked. She looked up to find that his eyes were elsewhere, focused between the trees.

Then, she heard it. "Keep to formation. We cross the river in fours."

Jedhan soldiers. They'd come to ambush the camp. A cry was on her lips but Kylo's hand clamped around her mouth. With a thud, she was belly-down on the wet forest dirt, sticks and rocks jutting into her exposed skin. A crushing weight settled on top of her, immobilizing her limbs. Slippery skin met slippery skin and Rey didn't want to think about what she could feel pressed into he soft flesh of her buttocks.

"Mphhh!" She let out a muffled cry against the hot flesh of Kylo's palm.

She could feel his breath in her ear when he spoke, "Ah ah ah." Her senses were filled with him. His body had at least a foot in length on hers so, she could feel his weight bearing down on every inch of her shoulders to ankles. She could smell the salt of the river on his skin and the sandalwood oil in his hair.

It should've sent her nerves screaming. She was a priestess. Physical contact of any sort was frowned upon…let alone this. If Master Kenobi could see her now he'd be all shades of red.

Rey watched helplessly as a squadron of Jedhans, led by Poe in full battle regalia, emerged into the clearing across the bank. They had a raft of logs tied together and they forded across the river in fours.

She and Kylo were concealed by cattails and other heavy shrubbery along the bank. None of the soldiers even looked their way…until one stopped, crouched down and rose again with something clutched in his hands.

Her robes.

"General," said the soldier.

Poe turned to the man as he held out Kylo's tunic and Rey's soaked robes. Poe took them, face slipping into despair. "Rey." The word left him like a gust of wind. "Let's go." He said, voice dark and violent. He dropped the clothes and strode off with his men at his heels. "Those bastards are leaving…today!"

Kylo didn't release her until the Jedhans were long gone and even then, he didn't release her completely. He kept his hand over her mouth and clutched her around the waist, keeping her flush against his chest. He scooped up their clothes and maneuvered them both, still naked, through the forest. Phasma and Hux waited in the clearing with weapons. Neither of them flinched at the sight of Rey and Kylo.

"An ambush is headed this way," said Kylo.

"We saw," said Phasma.

"Follow me back to the tent." Kylo didn't wait for an answer. They received some odd looks but were mostly shielded from prying eyes by Hux and Phasma.

In the tent, Kylo released her, depositing her onto the bed. He dropped their clothes beside her and quickly set about strapping on his armor.

"I hate you." She wanted to scold him, or throw a tantrum but why? Had she really expected anything less? She settled for glaring at him from the bed with her arms folded over her chest.

"No, you don't," He said. "Stay here. Get some sleep. I'll post guards outside all around the tent so, no one will hurt you."

So, no one will rescue you. He didn't say it but it was what he meant.

* * *

Kylo was glad for the interruption in the forest. It had been stupid to bring her along. She was distracting in all the ways he couldn't afford to be distracted.

Maybe he should give her to Phasma. He dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind because—distraction or no—she belonged to him.

He was a possessive man…but usually only when it came to objects. His armor, his weapons. Even Hux knew the consequences of touching those. But, he was not possessive of people. If anything, he was the opposite. He pushed people away. Always had.

But the Priestess was different. He wanted to possess her, to keep her.

She's a trophy. The first you've won from the Jedhans. A traitorous voice whispered the words in his mind…but he knew they weren't the whole truth. He did love to hurt his family in any way he could…but it was more than that.

Thoughts of Rey filled his mind as he sprinted out to join the battle. It didn't take long. The Jedhan attack had been sloppy and ill-planned. The Greeks drove them back across the sands to the gates of their city in a matter of hours.

When it was done he was too wound up to return to the tent. The sight of her there might've snapped his already thin self-control. So, he went back into the forest to hunt their dinner and burn off some energy.

He returned to camp an hour later with four rabbits in the leather bag and a good helping of blackberries, which he'd picked for Rey since he'd squished the first batch by tackling her to the ground.

He was in a rather pleasant mood until he saw the tent…something was wrong.

"Where is she?" He looked around the empty tent and turned furious eyes to his guards.

"Ki-ki-king Sn-snoke," one stuttered out.

"He sent half a dozen men to collect her," said the other.

"Dammit." Kylo roared, throwing the leather sack to the ground, ruining the second batch of blackberries.

* * *

Kylo stalked to the High King's ship, sword drawn. Every man he passed shrank back at the sight of him. He could feel the rage bubbling in his veins—he was barely keeping hold of it enough to prevent himself from slaughtering everything in his path.

It wasn't just that he'd lost Rey. It was the sheer audacity of Snoke. Honor was everything to a warlord like Kylo. The spoils of war were gifts given in homage to this honor. To revoke a gift was tantamount to spitting on a man.

Kylo had never been spat on.

He wasn't going to start now.

The guard's stationed outside the throne room tried to stop him entering and each received a black eye for their effort.

Snoke was in his throne—where else would he have been. He had a small audience of Kings—Phasma among them. Bazine was seated in a chair to Snoke's left. The King's mistress grinned when Kylo entered.

So, this was her doing? She would pay.

The rest of the crowd turned to Kylo and Snoke bellowed, "What is the meaning of this?"

Kylo pointed his sword menacingly at the King of Kings. "If you dishonor me by stealing my possessions in my absence, you pay for it in blood."

Snoke rose to his ancient feet. "Leave us," he said to their audience, waving his hands to shoo them out.

Kylo kept his stance as the Kings filed past. Phasma paused and laid a hand on his bicep, "Don't get caught up in the politics," she warned before she too left the room.

"You presume to threaten me, boy? I made you what you are."

"I threaten those who dishonor me."

"And that is all you think about isn't it? Honor? You are a soldier. Learn your place," Snoke moved slowly closer.

"Be careful King of Kings. I won you the beach you now stand on."

Snoke laughed. "The conquering of the beach was a great victory but that victory was not yours. Kings did not pay homage to you, Kylo Ren."

"Perhaps the Kings were too far back to see—the soldiers won the battle."

Snoke's breath rustled Kylo's hair as he bellowed. "History remembers Kings not soldiers! That was the one thing you failed to see when you ran from your true born name. Now, you're nothing but a weapon."

He was so close. One thrust of his sword and Kylo could end him, here and now. But it wasn't that simple. Kill the High King now and he'd have ten thousand men to answer to. Snoke, for now, was untouchable—and he knew it, which grated Kylo's nerves to no end.

"Where is she?" Kylo growled.

Bazine clapped her hands. "Slave girl," she called.

Rey emerged from the curtained doorway in the arms of two soldiers. Her ankles were shackled and she had a new bruise blooming on her left cheek. Her robes were back and still damp from the morning swim. She hid behind the curtain of her tangled chestnut hair, not even noticing Kylo.

"Bazine, if you like your head attached to your neck as it is now, you will let her go."

Bazine purred with laughter, "We can always count on you for pithy threats Ren. It's adorable, really."

"No one stole anything from you," Snoke said. "I said you could have her…I didn't say you could keep her. You've had her…now, it's my turn."

In a flash of movement, Kylo pulled Bazine from the chair and pressed his blade to her throat. "The slave or her. Decide," he said looking directly into the High King's beady black eyes.

"Stop!" Rey's voice silenced the standoff. "Please. Enough people have died already. I won't let anyone die for me. If killing is your only talent, that's your curse."

Kylo searched her face and found that the pity had returned. It was the look that had initially prompted him to claim her. The warrior cursed and let Bazine go, shoving her at Snoke as he paced the room.

"What, no threats? Nothing to say?" Snoke eyed Rey approvingly, "Whoever you are, you must be special if you can shut him up. I've tried unsuccessfully for years."

"You want me to say something?" Kylo spat on the dirt before the throne. "Hear this—you've dishonored me and I won't stand for it. Good luck winning this war without your best warrior."

With that, he stalked out, replaying the slight measure of fear he'd seen on Snoke's face over and over in his mind with satisfaction.

* * *

Queen Phasma of Illum prided herself on her cunning. She may not have been the best warrior, but she could outwit the best of men any day.

This is why she had stayed just outside the curtains of the throne room and listened to what went on. When Kylo stalked out, she followed.

"Kylo, you can't just refuse to fight," she argued as she fell into step with him.

"I just did."

"Is she really worth all of this?"

Kylo stopped walking and rounded on her. "You think this is about the Priestess? It is about honor. Snoke has none." He resumed his relentless pace toward their section of the beach.

"Think of your men!" She said, "They came here for war. To win their own honor. You are robbing them of that chance. Think of the men who will die if you do not fight. What of them? What of Hux? Or me? I have a wife and a kingdom that I want to return to one day. You'll only drag out the inevitable if you refuse to fight."

"What's happening?" Hux appeared and followed them into the tent.

"Your childhood friend has just declared his own war against King Snoke," Phasma threw up her hands.

"What? Why?"

"Snoke dishonored me," Said Kylo between pulls from the sack of wine he'd scooped off the floor.

"The girl?" Hux looked to Phasma, "I heard the men talking."

"No. Not the girl. It's more than the girl. He thinks he can just sit in his throne and watch us do all the work. He would claim the credit for all of our toil…and I won't stand for it. Until he comes here groveling to have me back—I'll not lift my sword for his cause."

Phasma shook her head. "Will you try to talk some sense into him? I'm going to do the same with the other members of this feud."

She left them and crossed the sands once more to enter Snoke's throne room. "My liege," she greeted the King of Kings, who had resumed his audience with the First Order Kings.

"Has he sent you to do his groveling?" Said Snoke.

"No, I came on my own. You cannot win this war without him."

Some of the others in the room agreed.

"You think I don't know that?" Snoke growled, "But what would you have me do…the man is insufferable."

"Give him back the girl."

Bazine snorted and rose to her dainty feet. "Absolutely not."

Snoke turned a glare to his mistress, "This is your fault, woman. You're the one who demanded I take the slave girl back. Look what your jealousy has wrought. You lost Finn so you started a war. Now, you've lost Kylo and you've started another."

Bazine's almond-shaped eyes flashed with anger, "Don't pretend that Finn is the cause of this war. We both know you used that as propaganda to rally these men to your cause," she waved her arms at their captive audience. "You've had your eye on Jedha for years. Don't lay this war at my feet." She stormed out with all the subtlety of a stampede.

Snoke studied Phasma for a long time. He dropped heavily into his throne, seeming tired. With a sigh, he said, "He can have the girl. If he can find her. I gave the girl to the men."

* * *

Rey screamed. It was all she could do as her limbs were being pinned by four separate men. It was sunset and they were outside on the beach around a bonfire. All of them stank of alcohol and some were so drunk they were slurring their speech.

She'd been called more vulgar names in the last four minutes than she had during her entire tenure as Unkar's slave.

When she saw the soldier take the glowing orange tip of the branding iron out of the fire's flames, her skin went white. Up until this moment, she hadn't been truly afraid.

She was frightened, but she believed it would be okay in the end…until now. Why had she stopped Kylo? He'd have killed that vile woman and taken her away from them. Was she really wishing to have him back? Was she so far gone?

Apparently…yes, she was…because when the dark warrior appeared out of nowhere and cut down the man with the iron, she cried out his name in joy.

The men holding her simply let her go, backing away in fear of the warlord. Kylo was terrifying, dark eyes manic, teeth snarling. He scooped Rey up, as was his way and carried her back to the safety of his tent. For once, she didn't argue.

This time he didn't toss her violently on the bed. Instead, he lowered her carefully to the furs in the sitting area and immediately went to the tent flaps and yelled something to his men. When he came back, an old woman was with him. She had more wrinkles than face, but her eyes were kind.

"This is Maz Kanata…she's a healer from Phasma's kingdom. She will see to you. Did Snoke…um…do you need her to…" he trailed off and Rey thought he might have been blushing.

"Oh," she realized what he'd meant. "No…he didn't."

Kylo nodded and came to sit beside her, pulling a tray of fruits and cheeses in front of them. He ate silently while Maz tottered to Rey's side.

"Kylo tells me your name is Rey?"

She nodded. "You don't have to help me. I've had worse."

"Nonsense, girl. That cut above your eye needs stitched or it will fester. Can't have you dying of infection—I don't think this war can afford that," she cast a wry look at Kylo, who was far too interested in his grapes.

Maz got to work sterilizing a needle and humming a soft pleasant tune under her breath.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kylo got up and grabbed another bowl, which he set beside Rey. "I went back for these."

Rey looked from the blackberries to his eyes and back. "What is it you want from me?"

He frowned. "Why must you assume I want something. Can't I just give you blackberries without having ulterior motives." He rose and said nothing as he left the tent. Rey watched him go, a small smile tugging at her lips. He could go from a menacing warlord to a petulant child in the blink of an eye. He was more like Poe than she'd ever admit to him. Perhaps, that was why his presence comforted her. He reminded her of home.

Maz uncorked a vial that smelled faintly of eucalyptus. She spread the salve on Rey's skin. "This will help with the pain."

Rey nodded, meekly reaching out to snatch up a few berries. "You are from Illum?"

Maz nodded as she threaded the needle. "It's a beautiful country. Small, but lush. Have you ever been there?"

"No. I've never been anywhere but Jedha."

"Ah," Maz nodded sagely. "You are lucky to have a protector like Kylo…he doesn't often take to people."

Rey flinched as she began stitching the cut. Maz's fingers were soft, the skin thin like gauze. She was gentle, good at her job.

"I don't feel very lucky," said Rey "I want to go home."

"Don't we all, girl. But we make the best of what we're given."

"Did they force you to come here?"

"No. I volunteered."

Rey's brow furrowed as much as it could whilst being stitched together. "Don't you have a family…grandchildren?"

The old woman smiled, "I was not blessed with family—though I have many children. I devoted my life to healing. I came when my Queen called because it is my life's purpose. As a Priestess, you should understand that."

"I used to think that was my purpose…"

"…But now, you are not sure."

Rey said nothing. She chewed the berries thoughtfully.

Maz stood. "Well, my door is always open if you'd like to talk or help with healing—in case you're looking for a new purpose."

Kylo returned, lurking in the corner like a silent demon. Maz walked right up to him, comically short compared to his strapping frame. "Be gentle with her," the old woman patted his arm, cast one final smile at Rey and slipped out the tent flaps.

"You can have the bed," Kylo said as he emerged from the shadows.

"I can sleep here," she patted the furs.

"You're hurt. You should sleep on the bed."

She folded her arms over her chest in defiance.

"Shall I carry you there? Don't think I won't."

Faced with that choice, Rey rose to her feet and lowered herself gingerly to the soft bed. She barely contained a sigh as the soft fabric cradled her aching body. "Happy?" She asked defiantly.

Kylo said nothing. He stretched out on the furs where Rey had been sitting, absently plucking berries from the bowl. "These aren't bad," he said. "I'd forgotten."

"What?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run?"

"You've seen what awaits you outside the tent…so, no."

"What if I slit your throat while you sleep?"

"Then, you'd have no one to bring you blackberries."

"Can't have that," She said lazily as her eyelids grew heavy. "You're right. Perhaps, I'll escape tomorrow."

* * *

Notes:

The Greeks were much more lax about nudity so I didn't think it too weird that they come out of the forest naked as they are. It would've been a shrug and move on kind of thing-though not for Rey, obviously, being a Priestess.


	7. Ch 6: Grotto

"Go yourself and sit beside him, abandon the gods' way,

turn your feet back never again to the path of Olympos

but stay with him forever, and suffer for him, and look after him."

― **Homer** , **The Iliad**

Ch 6:

Grotto

Rey woke at dawn to the sounds of the horn summoning the soldiers to war. Kylo gave no indication of joining them. His armor remained on its stand, watching them from the corner like a ghost. He was bare chested with the dark blue tunic he'd worn the day before around his waist, lounging on the furs, eyes on her.

"Were you watching me sleep?" She said distastefully.

"Maybe," he replied, "You're much less abrasive when you sleep."

She scrunched up her nose. "I am not sure if I should be offended by that."

"You should," he said throwing a berry at her.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" She climbed out of bed, chewing on the berry.

"No," He stood and stretched his arms overhead. She caught herself watching the way his muscles moved beneath his skin, gliding and shifting.

He must've noticed her ogling because he winked. Her cheeks burned as she looked away.

Hux and Phasma entered the tent both of them in full armor. They took in the sight of Rey, red faced and looking down at her hands with Kylo standing half-naked beside her. Both of their expressions turned to exasperation.

"Shouldn't you be getting dressed?" Phasma said.

"Have any formal apologies been issued?" Said Kylo. "No? Then, I don't think I will be joining the fight today."

Phasma raked a hand through her short cropped blonde hair. She didn't seem particularly surprised, just disappointed. "I'll leave you, then. My men are waiting for me," she squeezed Hux's hand as she left.

Hux remained. He was one of Kylo's soldiers—not a Knight of Ren but not a servant either. If Kylo wasn't going to war, neither was he…much to his apparent displeasure. "You have to fight. It's why we came."

"I was thinking of asking Rey to go for a walk. Would you like to join us, Hux?" Kylo turned to Rey, "Hux and I usually spar before breakfast."

"I'll go change," Hux left with a glare muttering 'This is unbelievable!" Under his breath.

Kylo grabbed a sword from the basket that held the weapons, inspecting it's polish and weight.

"Don't suppose you have a staff in there." Rey said as she did her own inspecting of her tattered robes.

Kylo chuckled, "What kind of soldier uses a staff? This is melee. You think a staff would hold up to a thousand iron swords?"

"A staff was the only weapon I was ever allowed. King Luke—"

"—Is an old fashioned zealot," Kylo interrupted.

Rey blinked at him in surprise. "How would you know?"

"Lucky guess," He selected another practice sword from the basket, "I can teach you, if you'd like. The sword…I don't want to brag but I'm a bit of an expert."

Rey rolled her eyes, thoroughly distracted from the earlier discussion of Luke. "Do you…could I borrow something else to wear? I need to wash and mend these," she held the tattered robes away from her body. "They won't be much good for sparring at any rate."

"Maz can mend them. I'll ask her later this afternoon." He rifled through a chest and emerged with some very fine fabrics in rich green and gold. He held them out to her in silence and went back to his inspection of the weapons.

Rey waited to see if he would leave, or at least turn around to let her change but he didn't move. In fact, he was watching her expectantly. "Could you at least turn around?"

"Modest all of a sudden?" He said, dark eyes lit with amusement, "I've seen it already, Priestess."

"Yes, you were very subtle about it too," Rey grumbled.

He scoffed as he turned. "I've never met a woman who complains as much as you do. Most take their clothes off without being asked," He shuddered a bit at some memory.

"You have said a lot of arrogant things in the last few days but I think that was a new low," She slipped out of her Priestess robes and stared at the fabrics he'd given her. She devised a way to drape it around her back and bring it across her front to tie around the neck. As long as the knot held it would provide decent coverage during swordplay.

* * *

Kylo glanced over his shoulder when he heard the rustling of fabric. He couldn't help himself. There was something so infuriatingly intriguing about Rey of Jedha. She met his eyes—she knew he'd been watching.

"Is that all I am to you?" She asked as she struggled with the wrap. "A conquest? Is that why you keep me? Why you're kind to me? Well, as kind as someone like you knows how to be?"

Yes. He didn't say it but he thought it. He'd been pondering that exact question a lot over the last two days. Women had always been conquests. They'd been fascinating until he got them alone—then, the fascination fell away.

This girl had flooded his mind in a way none had before. He craved her. Thought of her at every free moment. His fingers twitched with wanting to reach for her when she was near. It was different, new and entirely unsettling.

He was sure that it would fade once he could taste her. Just a taste and his curiosity would be sated. Then, he could be free of her. Then, he would return to normal and she would cease from haunting his dreams.

She was staring at him, hip cocked brow raised, waiting for an answer.

He promptly left the tent.

He paced the sand outside waiting for her. Hux came out of his own tent adjacent to Kylo's. Hux had left his armor behind but his irritated glare stayed put.

He stood watching Kylo pace back and forth with his arms folded defensively.

"What's gotten into you?" Hux asked. "You're not yourself. You've been different since we arrived. Is it your family?"

Kylo's head snapped up at that. "No," he said, offended. "I don't care about those self-centered prick-licks. I can't wait to tear down that damn wall they hide behind."

"So, it's the slave then?"

"She's a Priestess…not a slave."

Hux gave a wry smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "If you say so."

Rey stepped out of the tent and Kylo momentarily forgot Hux was even there. The sun played with the golden tanned skin of her exposed shoulders and collarbone while the green fabric complimented her hazel eyes. She still had lingering bruises and the cuts on her face were not all together healed, but she was regal all the same. That haughty, upturned nose had returned. Kylo grinned. He preferred her that way—self righteous and confident, as though she could clobber every man in the camp before supper and still have time to light a few candles to Apollo after dessert.

"Ready to go?" Kylo asked, tossing her the practice sword.

She caught it. Good reflexes, he thought approvingly.

They went through the forrest and climbed to a hilltop that was covered in wildflowers. There were no trees and the hilltop was relatively flat, plus it was out of view of the camp. Kylo paired her with Hux first, leaving him free to observe and give instruction.

Hux had been his closest friend since he arrived in Snoke's court at the tender age of nine. He loved him like a brother and would admit that the man had many admirable qualities—warfare was not among them. He was perfect for Rey to learn on, though.

Rey was a quick study. She seemed to glow in the sun as she lunged and thrust her blunt sword at a much slower moving Hux. There was an aura about her. The only thing he could compare it to were the description he'd received of himself.

He hadn't known what everyone meant when they said he glowed when he had a weapon in hand, that he was otherworldly, godlike. Now, he understood. She was the same.

Kylo tilted his head, mesmerized by her natural skill. Who was she? Leia and Han had adopted her, she had been a slave—but who was she before? Who was she by birth? Questions he'd need to ask as soon as they were alone.

Rey pinned hux to the ground, poking him in the sternum with the sword point. "Yield?" She asked.

Hux laughed, his earlier dour mood eased by the skirmish. "Yield," he agreed as she helped him up. "You could give Phasma a run for her money. Perhaps, I misjudged Kylo's possessiveness. You could prove to be a brilliant warrior."

"Thank you?" Said Rey sardonically.

Hux's grin widened, displaying pearly white teeth in neat rows. "Alright, Ren, you win. I like this one…not that I agree with your boycott of the war but I'll stop bringing that up—for now. Tell me about yourself, Rey," He said as they collapsed, panting beside Kylo on the flat rock where the warrior perched. "It doesn't look like you'll be going anywhere anytime soon so…I feel I should get to know you."

Kylo took a round loaf of bread from the pack he'd brought, tearing a piece for Hux, Rey and himself. He tried to appear disinterested in the conversation but he was certain he was failing miserably.

Rey picked at the bread, "There's not much to tell really. I live in the palace. I just recently took my vows. Only a few days before I was captured, actually. I grew up in Jedha. I like daffodils and lavender. I'm fairly boring."

"I don't think you're boring," Hux said kindly. "I'm boring. I have no family to speak of…though I did have a cat back in Moraband. I'd have brought her here…but I thought she'd be safer in the palace. I've known Kylo since we were nine years old. I'm a terrible soldier—as you've just witnessed…and I've a penchant for expensive wine."

Rey was peering at him. Kylo could feel the weight of her hazel eyes on the side of his face, making his cheeks heat up as if her eyes held the warmth of the sun. "You're turn," She said.

"What do you want to know?" He asked between mouthfuls of bread.

"Everything," Hux said, batting his eyelashes theatrically. "Regale us with your tales of conquest."

"I've no family," Kylo began.

Hux snorted and Kylo glowered at him.

"Fine. I won't play this game, then," Kylo rose and scooped up the discarded sword. "On your feet, Priestess."

* * *

Hux watched them fighting—circling each other, teasing more like. Kylo was just playing with her but Rey was keeping up well for someone who'd never held a sword before.

Hux wanted to hate her…but it was proving harder and harder to do. He'd loved Kylo Ren since boyhood, would go to the ends of the earth if he asked. Though, it had always been clear that Kylo had other interests…so, he'd settled for the title of brother and confidant.

It had been enough until Rey.

Hux saw the way they looked at each other…and it was only just beginning. The gods themselves had willed this, he could feel it in the energy that crackled in the air between them.

Kylo was lost to him, even if the warlord himself didn't see it yet.

Phasma had suggested as much the day Kylo claimed the slave girl.

In a way, it was ironic. Perhaps, the Sun God Apollo would have his revenge after all—the Greek's best hero had been rendered harmless by his infatuation with none other than Apollo's Priestess.

Perhaps, it was best not to point that out to Kylo, though.

They continued their skirmish, both of them seeming to have forgotten their audience. So, Hux left them to their battle and returned to the camp where he sought out Maz, she was always good company when no other options existed.

* * *

The Greek army rode out to the gates of Jedha. Queen Phasma rode in a chariot at he head of her men; her army was slightly behind Snoke and Bazine who rode in one chariot, flanked on either side by Ajax and Nestor.

The Jedhan army was there to greet them. Poe stood at the helm of his men in his splendid armor, every breath from his body sophisticated and correct. Beside Poe, stood Prince-consort Han. The aging general wore splendid armor of his own marked with the sun sigil of Jedha's royal family. On the other side of Poe stood Finn…the man that all this was for—well, more or less.

Phasma hadn't taken much notice of him at the Summit. He was just a constant fixture, always in Snoke's shadow, never talking to anyone or drawing attention to himself. Now, he seemed proud, princely even. Perhaps, Jedha suited him.

Snoke exited his chariot and Bazine followed. Phasma held up a hand to halt her men. All waited with baited breath to watch the exchange.

"Finn," Snoke croaked. "How nice to finally see you again. Jedha agrees with you."

Finn bowed his head in acknowledgment but said nothing.

Poe stepped forward. "This is not a war between nations, Snoke. It is a feud between men."

"What are you getting at boy?"

Finn looked nervously to the champion of Jedha. He tried to step forward also but Han placed a staying hand on his arm and shook his head. Clearly, this was not a strategy they'd discussed. Phasma had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly where this was headed.

Poe continued, "Let no more men die for this cause. I challenge you to a duel for the right to Finn. Your best fighter against me. If I win, I keep Finn and you leave Jedha and never return."

"And if I win?" Snoke purred, grinning evilly.

"Then, you will have your war."

Snoke began to say that he wanted to confer with his advisors but Bazine spoke out, "We accept your challenge, Champion of Jedha."

Snoke flashed his teeth at the woman who dared speak for him. He yanked her back to the group that had formed—Phasma, Nestor, Ajax and the others.

"Let Ajax crush him," Bazine whispered to the group. "His every breath dishonors you. After Ajax kills him, take the city."

"He challenged your best warrior and Kylo is not here. You should not take this challenge," said Phasma. "Don't underestimate them."

"Ha!" Bazine snorted, "Ajax will squash them with a single blow."

Snoke's eyes roved over them all, lingering on Phasma's pleading eyes. In the end, he agreed to the duel and Phasma heard Bazine whisper to Ajax that she wanted the final strike.

Poe waded out into the sand, holding his sword at his side. Ajax stalked toward him, he had at least a head of height on Poe—he had so on everyone, even Phasma.

The duel began. It was slow and brutal. The clang of metal screeched in the air. Both were expert warriors and it became a matter of who would slip up first. Who would get lucky. Phasma felt sweat bead along her hairline when Ajax landed a severe hit to Poe's left thigh. An angry red gash opened across his tawny skin, pouring blood like a waterfall into the sand.

Poe wasn't swayed, he swung out in a fury and slashed Ajax across the abdomen. Ajax stumbled back and in that split second, Poe slashed again, this time at the bigger man's neck…and Ajax tumbled face first into the sand.

"No!" Bazine screamed. Before anyone could catch her she stormed onto the battle field and scooped Ajax's sword from the sand. Poe wasn't expecting the attack. She stabbed the champion's side with surprising force and Poe swayed, blood pooling along his lips. Some sprayed out when he coughed.

Han and Finn ran to his side. "Stop!" Han screamed. "The duel is over. Poe won. Accept your defeat with honor."

Bazine swung again. Han blocked the blow with his own forearm, crying out in pain when the blade bit deep into his flesh. "You left us for this?" She said, eyes locked on Finn. "These pathetic people! Where is their King? Hmmmm? He's not even here to defend his own country." She spat in the sand, right where Poe had collapsed.

An arrow whizzed through the air so fast, Phasma hardly saw it. She heard the zing and suddenly Bazine staggered. The High King's mistress turned to face the Greek army, arrow protruding from her neck at a grotesque angle. Her mouth worked to form words but nothing would come out. She managed two steps forward, arms outstretched toward an impassive Snoke before she fell beside Ajax in the sand.

Phasma traced the arrow to its source. It had come from above. Her eyes moved up the walls of Jedha where she saw Princess Leia—bow outstretched, murder in her eyes.

"Be ready at dawn. This is war," Snoke growled as he turned his chariot and sped off, army in tow.

* * *

After their sparring, Kylo had suggested they catch fish for dinner—enough for Phasma and Hux to join them, since he was certain Hux was off pouting somewhere. Rey had suggested they also invite Maz.

Instead of the river, they went to the beach. They walked along the shore line until they found a small grotto set into the cliff face. Rey perched on a rock, her feet trailing in the crisp water. She watched Kylo. He stood stalk still, knee deep in the water, brandishing a spear. She laughed at him as his eyes tracked the movement of the fish below the water. Like a cat watching a bird.

"You know, there are easier ways to catch fish," she said.

"Just because something is easier doesn't mean it is better."

Rey rolled her eyes. She looked around the grotto, wondering why she'd never found it before. She'd explored every inch of this shore line…or so she'd thought. She considered him again. Somehow, the day had passed and she hadn't thought once of escape. A part of her felt as though she was betraying her family by staying here with him—another part of her wanted to stay and learn more about the demigod.

Kylo's spear plunged in and out of the water so fast she might've blinked and missed it. A fish wriggled on the end with each thrust. Impressed Rey gave a polite clap. "Another thing you must teach me," she said.

He pulled the fish off the end of the spear and tossed the spear into her hands. "Get up here, then."

Rey tied the ends of her wrap around her thinghs and waded out into the water beside him. He traded places with her, going to sit on the rock.

"Who were your parents?"

His question caught her off guard. She looked up from the water she'd been scrutinizing. "I don't know. I'm an orphan. I never me them."

"You don't even know their names?"

She shook her head and went back to her search. She jabbed the water unsuccessfully. She didn't manage to catch a fish, but she did manage to splash them both. Kylo chuckled at her. He took out a dagger and started cleaning the small pile of amassed fish.

"What about you?" She asked. "You said you were taken form your home when you were nine…what happened? Where was home before Greece?"

He was silent, that same unreadable darkness settling over him. The warrior had returned. When he spoke, his voice was cold and far way. "I lived in a palace, somewhere. I don't remember much. I was hunting one day and was set upon by a group of mercenaries who had a prisoner with them. I was an arrogant fool—even then. Hard to imagine, I know," He cast a weak smile at her. "I charged at them. Yelling at them for poaching in my forrest. Killed two of them before the prisoner broke free and finished them off. The man who I'd accidentally freed turned out to be Snoke. It was during the Greek civil wars you see. Snoke said he'd never seen anyone fight like me, child though I was. He begged me to come with him. I tried to run but he caught me. Next thing I knew, I was in a dungeon in his castle in Greece. Every day he'd come to me and ask me to foreswear my name. Become something more, he called it. Every day I refused. Until one day, I realized that no one was coming for me. My family stopped looking. Maybe they never even noticed I was gone. So, I was remade."

Rey forgot about the spear, moving to sit beside him. "Who taught you to fight?"

"No one," He said, locking eyes with her. "I was born and this is what I am…as the gods made me."

She watched him study the callouses on his knuckles, fighting the urge to touch them herself. "Are you one of them? Truly? A god?"

A half grin broke up the dark mask of his face. "Half—My mother was a goddess…but she chose to live a mortal life for my father…but apparently, the bloodline continued in me."

A small crease formed between Rey's brows. It was familiar. Everything he was telling her was familiar. She hadn't had parents to tell her bedtime stories as a child and, as a result, she didn't know many of the legends of the gods' exploits. But there was something about this tale that reminded her of whispers she heard on the streets of Jedha. Things only heard in passing.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Kylo taking her hand to pull her to her feet. It wasn't the intimate gesture she'd imagined and yet the warmth of his hand traveled up her arm, setting her nerves aflame. The force of it frightened her. No one had ever had that kind of effect on her…and it all came too late…she'd made her choice. She'd chosen the love of a god over the love of a man.

"Would you like to meet one?"

"A god?" Rey blinked. "How?"

"Close you eyes," he said softly. She hesitated. Perhaps, he meant to kill her and send her to meet Hades now…she really couldn't be sure with him. They were little more than strangers after all…and he was the most dangerous man in Greece.

"You don't trust me," he said flatly, reading the conflict in her eyes.

"Give me a reason to."

Her eyes moved involuntarily to his wide pouted lips. He was so close to her, always invading her space. She had only to lean forward slightly and their lips would meet. Did she want that? How could she want that? It was against everything she had dedicated her life to and against her country and family besides. No, she couldn't let herself want that.

She stepped back and his beautifully carved face fell into utter sadness. She'd never seen someone look so crushed. It only took him a moment to recover, but it was too late, she'd seen it and some part of her ached from the sight.

"Some other time, then." He collected the pile of fish and stomped away, assuming she would follow, which she did.

The others agreed to come for dinner. They gathered in Kylo's tent, which was the most luxurious of them all. Strewn about on the cushions and furs with a plate of roasted fish, fruits, and cheese before them, they shared a meal. Maz had brought a flagon of wine which was also making its rounds amongst the group.

At the beginning of the meal, Phasma had refused to talk about the day's battle, but the more wine she drank, the more forth coming she was.

Rey's heart nearly stopped when she said that Poe had challenged Bazine to a duel. She felt Kylo's eyes on her. "What happened?" Rey asked, trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

"He's alive," said Phasma. "Bazine and Ajax are not."

She saw Kylo's flinch out of the corner of her eye. Rey didn't know Ajax but she'd met Bazine and she couldn't say she was sorry the woman was gone—a very ungodly statement, but oh well.

Kylo lifted his wine goblet, "To Ajax. He was a fine soldier. The best of men."

"The best of men," the others agreed.

"Enough talk of war," Maz admonished. "You all are too young to be so serious." She waddled over to the lyre by the armor stand. Rey hadn't noticed it before. Was it Kylo's?

The old healer thrust the instrument into Kylo's hands. Kylo played and Hux began making up comical songs about made up heroes and war stories. Hercules, the strong, could break anything but he could not dance to save his life and Hermal, the fast, who mistook hubris for hummus and is still choking on the crumbs.

Kylo was a surprisingly wonderful player…and Rey's cheeks were hurting from Hux's antics. She hadn't meant to enjoy herself so much but after a glass of wine or two and as many songs, she was smiling, laughing, and gazing fondly at them all. They'd been the enemy and nothing more when they'd arrived here…but really they were only her enemies by chance. They were people like any others. People defending their country…just as hers were doing. They weren't evil—at least not those in this tent.

Hux settled down and began asking Rey more questions about her interests. She found that her eyes were magnetically drawn to Kylo, playing softly across from her. Maz noticed—she was sure they all did, though no one commented aloud.

Finally, Maz cleared her throat and said, "Well, it's getting late. Us old folk need our sleep. I'll have those robes mended for you tomorrow Rey. Come by my tent around noontime." She got up and bid them all goodbye, leaving with a wink to Rey.

Hux and Phasma excused themselves too..and she and Kylo were alone once more. He continued softly playing the lyre, refusing to look at her. Rey sighed in exasperation. His sheer ability to brood was really something to behold.

She went to him, not knowing what she would say, but certain that they couldn't carry on like this. She pulled the lyre from his hands without asking. His eyes flashed and he was about to growl something at her, but she placed a hand over his mouth like he'd done to her at the river.

"I want to meet the gods," she said. "Show me?" She had purposely left out the I trust you part…not quite ready to admit that, even to herself.

"Now?" He asked, even as she took his hands in hers, weaving their fingers together.

"Do you have some other pressing engagement?"

"No," he led her by the hand back to the grotto. This time when he asked her to close her eyes, she obeyed. He dropped something into her palms, enclosing it between their hands. It was a smooth string of small beads of some kind.

"Grandfather?" He called out to the moonlit night around them.

"Grandson. This is a bit outside your regular visiting hours, I must say."

Rey's eyes shot open at the second voice. The beads in her hand were forgotten as she looked at the man who emerged from the water. She couldn't say if he was old or young. Ageless, the word flitted through her thoughts. He was dry, despite having come from the grotto. He wore long robes of ever-changing silver, as though the fabric were made of liquid steel.

The man tilted his head when he caught sight of them. Kylo stood behind her, chest pressed against her back, his arms wound around her front, hands closed over hers, the beads still between them.

A small smile lit the god's face. "I'll be damned."

Rey thought it was very un god-like language. She supposed that she didn't know as much about the gods as she'd thought.

"Grandfather, this is Rey of Jedha. Rey, this is my grandfather—Anakin."

Rey stammered, "It's nice to meet you…should I bow or—I'm sorry. I don't—"

Anakin cut off her babbling by pulling her into him. "I'm a hugger." He pointed to the beads still clutched in Rey's hands. "I see you figured out what those were for."

Rey looked down at what she was holding. A string of freshwater pearls, the most perfect she'd ever seen. She tried to hand them back to Kylo. He took them but only to drape them and clasp them around her neck. "It's alright," he said. "He can make me another talisman. Something a bit more practical this time," he said with a pointed look to his grandfather, who shrugged innocently. "If I didn't know better I would say you were playing matchmaker up there on Olympus."

Rey blushed at the implication as she fingered the pearls. She'd always wanted a necklace like this, had even begged Poe to bring her one.

"I always prepare for the unexpected," said Anakin. "Come, sit. Now, Rey of Jedha…there is something familiar about you. Who are your parents?"

Rey shrugged. "I don't know, Sir." Kylo squeezed her hand and instead of dropping it, pulled their joined hands to rest in his lap.

"That's enough of the "Sir" business. You may call me Anakin. Has my grandson been behaving himself?"

Rey's lips quirked, "More or less."

They discussed how they'd come to meet and her life as a priestess. Anakin had promised to think on why she seemed familiar and told her that she could always come visit him as long as she had the pearls. Then, he'd left them…though she could still feel his presence in the air. She could almost see his reflection in the glare of the moon on the grotto water.

"Was it everything you expected?" Kylo asked.

"He's wonderful. Everything I imagine a grandfather ought to be…except old. He's not that."

"Well, he's ancient, but I know what you mean." Kylo stood and pulled Rey to her feet. "Come on, we should go back."

"Why?" She asked, suddenly bold. "Have you anything to do tomorrow?"

"I suppose I don't," he answered seeming a bit troubled by that.

"Good." Before she could lose her nerve, Rey untied the wrap from her neck, letting it fall to the ground as she slipped into the shallow end of the grotto. She moved so quickly that Kylo couldn't have had time to see much. She grinned in satisfaction at the scandalized look on his face. "I'll never be good at swimming if I don't practice," she explained. "Coming warlord?"

"What have I done to you?" He said as he stripped off his tunic. He took considerably more time undressing and getting in the water. Rey didn't watch—she was bold, but not shameless—not yet anyway. He waded the shallow end and moved into deeper water, pulling her along by the hand.

They swam for a bit. Rey even grew confident enough to let go of Kylo completely. Then, they got out and dressed in awkward silence. She wasn't sure what she'd expected. Maybe she hadn't expected anything. A part of her felt guilty. She was encouraging him…but every time he moved closer, she backed away. As much as she enjoyed his attention, she couldn't quite bring herself to admit that she wanted him…that she couldbetray her vows for him…one day.

That night, Kylo blew out the candles in the tent and laid down on the bed beside Rey. He didn't ask permission, but once he was beside her he peered over and said, "Is this okay?"

"Yes," she said, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. "I think it's okay."


	8. Ch 7: Of Kittens and Captivity

Chapter Text

 **"Thetis answered him then letting the tears fall: "Ah me,**

 **my child, your birth was bitterness. Why did I raise you?**

 **If only you could sit by your ships untroubled, not weeping,**

 **since indeed your lifetime is to be short, of no length.**

 **Now it has befallen that your life must be brief and** bitter

beyond **all men's. To a bad** destiny **I bore you in my chambers"**

 **― Homer, The Iliad**

 **Ch 7:**

 **Of Kittens and Captivity**

Rey woke with the most pleasant feeling of being warm and safe. It took her a few blinking moments to remember the tent and that Kylo had slept beside her the night before. Panic flooded her body. Before her mind could catch up with her limbs, they shot out in all directions with surprising force. Kylo's body pushed away from her and flopped off the side of the bed, leading with a heavy thud.

He was on his feet, half-asleep, arms up in fists ready to face his attacker. His black shoulder length hair was sweaty and stuck to his head in odd patches. Like Rey, it took him a moment. He blinked at her, uncomprehending.

"Sorry," she mumbled…though it served him right. She'd allowed him to share the bed, not grope her in the middle of the night…not that he'd been conscious of it anymore than she was. Still, she had her honor— though slightly tarnished at this point—to protect. Tarnish could be polished away. Stain could not. She could live with tarnish.

"Did I hurt you?"

"What? No…I just…I wasn't expecting…" She trailed off, studying the furs that were currently shielding her body from view. They were much more interesting then the slightly hurt expression on his face.

Kylo unsettled her in the dark. When the sun was up he was all glares and weapons and buster…but in the moonlight he changed into something much more dangerous. He was kind, and surprisingly open. So unlike the warlord his reputation made him out to be.

He nodded and raked a hand through his wild, sleep mussed hair. He padded over to the washbasin and splashed his face. "I'm going to talk with my grandfather."

"Do you want company?"

"No," he said defensively.

Rey was silent.

Almost in apology he added, "I'll be back before too long. Why don't you see what Hux is doing? I'm sure he'd like the company. He's alright if you can get passed his love of cats."

Rey watched him dress and leave. She listened intently as he stepped outside, waiting to see if he'd post guards at the tent flaps…but he didn't. She was on her own.

Rey flopped back on the bed, deciding to get a few more hours of sleep before contemplating what this new freedom meant. He trusted her enough to leave her unguarded. Should she break that trust by running away?

When she got up, they sun was high and the day's battles already begun. Rey still wore the green wrap from the day before, which was now wrinkled from sleep. Maz still had her priestess robes, which she'd said she would mend. Rey couldn't run off without those.

Rey found her way to the hearer's tent. Maz was busy with an influx of wounded soldier's from the day's battle. She'd meant to get the robes and leave but somehow, she found herself helping to treat the less dire injuries while Maz did the stitching and re-locating of limbs.

Soon, her tentative thoughts of escape were forgotten. These men were suffering and dying before her eyes. Every minute that the battles raged she worried herself sick over Poe and Han…even Finn a bit, though there was also a bit of resentment toward the man who started this war.

Kylo, had been true to his word, he had not joined the battle. As far as Rey knew, he was still in the grotto with his grandfather. Rey knew it was selfish, but she was glad that he wasn't fighting. It made her feel slightly less-guilty about her growing feelings toward the demigod. He wasn't hurting her own people anymore and that was a start.

Perhaps, she wouldn't run. Perhaps she could stay and convince him to run with her.

Hux joined them in Maz's tent, claiming that he too needed to feel useful since he couldn't fight. He really was pleasant company, though he seemed lonely without his best friend—another point of guilt for Rey. She'd been occupying most of Kylo's time and so Hux was feeling ignored.

Rey had an idea…and it wasn't going home.

It was still hours until sundown and the battles had been concluded for the day due to an impending storm. Wars were strange things, with codes of honor that seemed counterintuitive to Rey. Still, Kylo would be good and distracted…she could be gone and back before he noticed.

She slipped out of camp with one goal in mind—the stray cats that lived near the olive groves just outside of Jedha City. There were always cats there—she and Poe had gone to feed them regularly, though they weren't allowed to keep them in the palace as Leia claimed an aversion. Rey was sure this was just an excuse but she didn't press the issue.

She stole across the sands, moving through the hidden roadways that only one who grew up in Jedha would know. When the walls were in sight, she stopped. Her heart ached in her chest. She'd made up her mind not to go home but now that she could see the city walls her certainty wavered.

What was she doing? She was half-way home. She could go home now and never look back. She'd be safe once more with her family. She'd never see Kylo again. Her hands moved of their own volition to the pearls she still wore.

Maybe, she could just go visit Poe. She could explain the situation and he'd let her go back to Kylo. Given time, she was sure she could convince Kylo to come with her to Jedha. He'd already vowed not to fight in the war. Maybe they could reach a compromise, he would leave the war behind and she would leave Jedha. She could always send word to her family once they were settled somewhere.

She almost laughed at herself. All these plans based on a man she had no relationship with. They weren't lovers. They were hardly even friends. Technically, she was still his slave.

She was being ridiculous.

Poe was waiting for her.

Han, Leia, Finn…and Apollo.

Home.

Mind made up she stole toward the city with renewed speed. She could almost smell the incense burning in the palace halls, feel the silk of the sheets in her bed. Hear Poe's laughter carrying through the dining hall. How had she almost forsaken this?

She reached the olive groves and ran, not caring that the ground was cutting the bare soles of her feet, not caring that the branches snagged on her newly mended white robes.

Not caring about the sound of her name being called from behind.

A hand clamped around her bicep and she stumbled backward with the force of it, taking her assailant down with her. When she recovered her senses she looked up at the person who'd fallen on top of her. Kylo?

"What are you doing here?" Rey demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing," he growled. None of the softness she'd seen at the grotto was present now. He was angry, hurt, even.

Rey hesitated for a beat. What could she say? She had no hope of going home now that she'd been caught…so, she lied. "I came to get a cat for Hux."

Kylo reeled back, brows nearly meeting his hairline. "What? That's a terrible lie—even for you."

"Hux is lonely and I know a spot where feral cats gather…I was going to get him one," Rey glared at him through narrowed eyes. "What do you mean even for me?"

"Only that you are a terrible liar." Kylo pressed up on his palms, still looming over her.

"I thought you were with your grandfather. How did you know I'd left…and how did you know where I'd go? No one knows those roads."

At that, he climbed to his feet, not quite meeting her eyes. "I came back and you weren't in the tent. Some of the men in the watch posts saw you come this way."

Speaking of terrible liars, Rey thought. They stared at one another in silence as Rey too got up.

"Did you really think I'd run off? After everything?" She would've, but she didn't need him to know that.

"I asked you yesterday if you trusted me and you couldn't give me an answer. So…how am I to trust you?"

Rey started walking toward the alcove in the rock, where the cats hid from the sun. "What exactly was your plan? To storm Jedha by yourself and drag me back to the camp?"

Kylo shrugged and sheepishly twisted his index finger around the braid behind his ear. He stopped walking when the soft mewl of cats filled the air. "You were telling the truth?"

Mostly, she thought. Instead of answering she dropped to her knees and peered under the large tan rock. Several cats trotted out to brush up against Rey's side. A few of the braver ones even went for Kylo's legs. Rey smiled in delight when two kittens stumbled out—one orange and one grey with white paws and black tipped ears. They blinked at the bright sunlight. "Oh, hello there. Aren't you perfect?" She picked up the orange kitten and handed the grey one to Kylo, who looked thoroughly terrified of holding something so small.

"Which one will Hux like?"

Kylo frowned as the grey kitten licked his palm. "The orange one," he said. "This one seems to have a taste for human flesh."

"It likes you, you idiot."

"Don't you feel bad…taking them from their family?"

Rey stopped. She hadn't really thought of that. "We will give them good lives," she said, "They won't starve or have to scavenge for food."

"You do realize these are cats we're talking about…and what do you mean we?" Kylo asked, cautiously patting the grey kitten's ears. He fell into step beside Rey, who was already walking with the orange kitten through the groves. One adult cat trailed after them, keeping a safe distance.

Rey shrugged, "Unless Hux wants two kittens. I don't know…it seemed weird to take one and not the other."

Throughout the walk, Kylo grew more and more comfortable with the grey kitten. It was snuggled, purring in his palm. The sight of the warlord holding the tiny creature was almost comical. Rey giggled quietly.

Kylo shot her a withering glare, "Don't you dare," he warned.

"But it's so cute." Rey giggled harder.

"You'll pay for that," he said sharply. "When you least expect it."

This did not help her giggling and Kylo stomped ahead, sulking all the way back to camp.

* * *

Back at the camp, they put the kittens in their tent. Kylo froze at that. Since when did he consider it their tent. He studied Rey as she bounded off excitedly to fetch Hux. He knew she was lying. She'd been trying to escape—though how she knew about the cats was beyond him.

A part of him was hurt by it. She'd chosen to run from him. He'd tried to trust her and give her some freedom and she'd run. He supposed he couldn't blame her, if he was a prisoner he'd do anything in his power to escape, but that knowledge didn't soften the blow to his pride any.

What had he known her now…three days? And here he was expecting miracles. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, reminding himself to be patient—though that was never his forte.

They found Hux in Maz's tent. Rey grinned at the fair skinned man and said, "Hux, we have a surprise for you."

"Kylo's agreed to fight?" His pink lips set in a sarcastic smirk.

"Better," said Rey. "You have to come with us."

"Go on," Maz said shooing them all out. "If you're not helping you're in the way."

At the flaps of their tent, Kylo saw that the adult cat had followed them all the way back. She slunk along now, eyes sparkling with mischief as only a cat's can do, as if she knew she was ruining the surprise.

Hux's translucent skin flushed pink with excitement. He bent to pet the dark fur. "Rey, I—I can't believe you remembered."

"That's not even the surprise," Rey could hardly contain her excitement. It almost made Kylo forget that she'd tried to run from him not an hour before. She bounced her weight on the balls of her feet, grinning at him with shared secrets.

She pulled him and Hux into the tent, allowing the black cat to slink in. She scooped up the kittens and held them out to his best friend.

Hux took the orange kitten, as Kylo had known he would. "Kylo, were you involved in this?"

Kylo shook his head. "It was all Rey."

Hux moved onto the grey kitten, scratching its ears too. "I could kiss you," he said to Rey. "I won't but—you'd better." He winked at Kylo.

Kylo cast a glance at Rey who was looking anywhere but at him. The air in the tent suddenly felt stifling and close.

Hux cleared his throat, "Well, I can see you are not yet at the teasing stage of your relationship…and on that note, I think I will fetch Phasma to come meet our new furry companions." He slipped out, cradling one of the kittens and promising the other that he'd be right back.

"Are we roasting fish for dinner?" Rey asked, obviously uncomfortable with the silence.

"If you'd like. Grandfather gave me quite a selection when I visited. Crabs, oysters…" Kylo trailed off, finally understanding the wink Anakin had given him when he handed over the oysters. To his horror, the warrior felt the tips of his ears burning. Was he blushing? He hadn't blushed since he was ignorant gangly Ben.

Rey must not have understood any of it. She smiled and set about fetching a kettle to boil water. Kylo offered to fill it if only to get some fresh air away from Rey and their tent.

When he returned, so too had Phasma and Hux with Maz in tow. Hux claimed the orange cat and dubbed it Bebe along with the older black cat—obviously the mother—whom he called Nyx. Maz volunteered to take the other kitten, much to Kylo's relief. For Rey's sake he'd have allowed one to stay but the thought made him groan.

Rey was all smiles throughout dinner, laughing with Hux and Maz over some shared joke from the healer's tent earlier that day. Blushing when she cracked a crab leg that squirted juice all over her and Kylo beside her.

Phasma was the only quiet one of the group, no doubt reliving the battle. Kylo didn't envy her that. He'd asked her how the fighting when and she'd told him, grim faced and judgmental. She was still angry that he refused to fight.

Kylo's chest ached as he watched them all.

He'd almost lost Rey today. Almost lost her before he even really had her. That thought scared him more than he was prepared for it to. He'd allowed himself to forget for a few days that she was a prisoner here. That her home was in Jedha—with his parents…whom he had no love for.

There was no future for them. Unless she would leave it all behind, and today she'd proved she wouldn't.

He thought again of the prophecy. The reason he'd agreed to this war. Glory would be his but he would die for it, here on the lands of his youth. His name would live on forever, even if his body did not.

What he was doing to Rey was unfair. He had no future to give. The thread of his life was fraying with each passing minute.

Did the prophecy still apply if he turned his back on the war? If he turned his back on glory? Could he renounce his decision and choose life with this young priestess?

A question for which Anakin had had no answer.

They all laughed loudly about something and Kylo couldn't stomach any more. He got up and stormed out of the tent without a word to anyone. He went back to the grotto, not knowing where else to go. He sat with his head in his hands and that was how Rey found him.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"It's nothing. Leave."

"Is this about today?" She chewed her bottom lip. "I was running back to Jedha. I wasn't planning on coming back…but you already knew that."

"Yes, I knew that. You're a terrible liar, Priestess," he sighed and stood, pacing the rocks.

"I won't apologize for trying to go home…but for what it's worth, I am sorry that I lied to you."

"I'm not," he said coming to a stop before her, so close he could see the way the moonlight ignited the flecks of gold in her hazel eyes, making them shine. On impulse his hand tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear—small cute ears, not like his. His fingers burned where his skin touched hers and he recoiled at once.

"You trying to leave reminded me of what this really is," he said. "You're a prisoner and I'm…" he trailed off, unsure how much he wanted her to know. "I'm the one keeping you so."

She drew closer, placing a hand on his forearm to stop him from turning away. "I'm not sorry that I met you," she said. "I chose to love a god because I had never found anyone else that I could love…I thought I never would. I'm not saying that I do love you. Sometimes I'm not even sure I like you…but I think I could. One day. If things were different," she retracted her hand, cheeks flushed as his own. "I have no idea why I told you that. It doesn't change anything between us. I guess I just thought you should know that you are more than you give yourself credit for…you're more than this war."

Kylo gave a self-deprecating laugh. "My own parents couldn't love me…how could you?"

"Because you haven't given me a reason not to."

* * *

Rey saw the change in his eyes, the moment he came back to her. He'd been in some dark place, unreachable…but she'd pulled him back. As soon as the words left her lips it happened.

"Because you haven't given me a reason not to."

He turned to face her, face slowly descending closer, closer, closer and then…he stopped. He sighed, letting his forehead rest against hers for the most agonizingly slow moment…and he was gone, as if he'd never been there at all.

She watched him sit back on the rock to stare into the water. She was torn for a moment on whether to go to him or to leave him there. He'd certainly given her no reason to stay. She'd admitted more to him just then than she'd ever admitted to any man and he'd said nothing. Done nothing.

Had she really wanted him to do something? Was she so far gone?

She felt the white fabric of her freshly cleaned robes beneath her fingers and felt her anger retreat. No. She was not yet past the point of no return. She was grateful that he'd stopped.

There was no future for them. Every minute she remained his prisoner was proof of that.

In another life, perhaps. But never in this one.

She left him and went back to the tent where she curled in a ball on his bed. The others had left, recognizing that the evening had ended with Kylo's fit. For the first time since her capture, Rey felt tears, hot and burning along the line of her lashes.

If she had stayed in the palace, none of this would've happened. She'd be safe in Jedha with Poe and Finn. She thought of Leia and Han. Had they grieved for her? Had they bothered to look?

She could only hope that word had reached King Luke in Lost City and that he was on his way now to put an end to this farce of a war.

She shut her eyes, clutching the strand of pearls between her fingertips. She had no other channel to the gods at present and these were from Anakin…they would be as decent a holy relic as any.

She prayed to Apollo that he might aid the soldiers of Jedha…and she prayed to Aphrodite, that she might uncast whatever spell she'd thrust upon Rey that made her long for Kylo as she did.

With those prayers on her lips, she fell asleep, not even noticing when Kylo finally returned to sleep on the floor, as far from her as he could manage.


End file.
